Purple in the Dark
by ThatGuyYouMetOnce
Summary: Rogue is feeling inadequate with himself. He and Sting grow apart after Sting becomes Master. Can he and Kagura fill the empty spots in each other's hearts? Rated T. Rogue x Kagura, Rogura
1. A Fateful Encounter

**AN: Hey, everybody! I started another story, based around one of my new favorite ships. Hope you guys like it! I have high hopes. If you haven't go check out my OC-tastic first story, Bonds & Scars, on my profile. It's super rad, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

Chapter 1: A Fateful Encounter

It was a warm, pleasant summer day in the town of Epireus. The sun's rays filtering through the light cloud cover almost had a tangible form, they were so lazy and carefree. A gentle breeze ruffled through the grass surrounding the quiet hill town, and little tufts of dandelion fluff fluttered in the wind. In essence, it was the perfect day.

Rogue hated perfect days.

Especially when they were perfect for everyone _but_ him.

Sure, the day had started _off_ great. Sting had managed to find a hole in his all-too-busy schedule to do a mission together, which Rogue had sorely missed. He had missed being part of the strongest tag duo in Fiore. He had missed all of Lector's confident wisecracks to counteract Frosch's nonsensical mumblings. He had missed having Sting around to help him deal with the public attention, to help soak up all the praise and share the potential failure. He used to be Rogue, one half of the legendary Twin Dragons. Now he was Rogue, that guy who used to be Master Sting's second before Sting moved on to bigger and better things.

It was a relatively easy mission, and he and Sting had finished it up quickly and painlessly. He had headed to this nice little town with Sting to grab some dinner and catch up with his lifetime partner, but the press had caught wind of the fact that the Master of one of the most famous and powerful guilds in Fiore would be visiting the little town of Epireus, and soon Sting was mobbed by a crowd of cheering fans. Little boys grinned up at him and asked for autographs. Hordes of teenage girls draped themselves all over Sting like coats on a rack. All Rogue could do was stand by and watch awkwardly. Even Lector got more attention than he did. Rogue didn't want to admit it, but watching women throw themselves at Sting, he couldn't help but feel… jealous? It was strange, because the situation hadn't been any different than how it was before the Grand Magic Games: Sting and Rogue would do a mission, Sting would get all the glory, and Rogue would watch from the shadows. And he had _preferred_ it that way. But now it was different. Before it was like Sting was shielding Rogue from the spotlight he didn't want, but now that spotlight didn't even want to shine on him. All it wanted was the man, the Master, the flashy White Dragon Sting.

Lector, and not Sting, had been the one to break the news to Rogue. "Sting just agreed to do some photo shoots, interviews, and a banquet. Would you like to come?"

Rogue had not even had to think before he answered. "No, thanks. I need to… practice."

"Fro thinks so, too!"

And so Lector had left, and so had Sting. And here was Rogue now, sitting on the hillside, contemplating himself, remembering how it used to be. Those were the good old days, when he and Sting had been inseparable. That was before they'd been publicly humiliated by Natsu and Gajeel, before he'd learned that he killed Sting in a future timeline. It had been hard for him to think of Sting the same way again since then. He didn't even know what to think of Sting anymore.

"What do you think, Frosh?"

There was no answer. Rogue turned side to side frantically. Frosh was nowhere to be seen. _Oh, great. He must have wandered off while I was lost in thought._

Rogue hurriedly set off and started looking for his best friend. Rogue couldn't understand how Frosch had gotten so far in such a short period of time, because he was nowhere to be seen in the immediate vicinity. "Frosch!" he yelled. "Where are you?"

Wandering aimlessly through an alleyway on the other side of town, Frosch wasn't able to hear Rogue's cry. Loud sounds came from the neighboring buildings. He wasn't sure what he was doing or where he was going, or why the heck Rogue wasn't here, but he knew he had to get back to Rogue. He vaguely remembered Lector lecturing him about what to do if he got lost again, like that time when he went all the way to the Fairy Tail guildhall. So Frosch went up to the nearest stranger and asked if they'd seen Rogue.

The stranger bent down to look at Frosch. "Have I seen 'Rogue?' You mean the shadow dragon slayer from Sabertooth?"

"Yes," Frosch agreed. "Fro thinks so. He wandered off somewhere, leaving Fro all alone… Fro is very scared…" the Exceed's eyes started to tear up.

"Oh, please don't be sad. I'm sure Rogue will be just fine, and I'll look after you until you find him." The stranger stroked the top of Frosch's cat suit.

Frosch looked up gratefully. "You really think so?"

"I do."

Frosch smiled. "Fro thinks so, too!"

The stranger gave a wry smile back. "You know, Rogue is very lucky to have you. I've always wanted a little sibling to take care of."

"Frosch!"

Frosch turned around and there was Rogue, running towards his best friend. "Rogue!"

Rogue knelt down and embraced his reunited Exceed friend, but soon both remembered the stranger standing there awkwardly. "Oh! Sorry…" Rogue said. "Thanks for keeping Frosch safe. Hey, you're-"

"Don't mention it," she said.

The two stood there awkwardly staring at each other. Rogue met her eyes, then automatically glanced away at the next thing he looked at, which was, embarrassingly, her breasts. His eyes were caught for a few moments, mesmerized, before he tore them away in embarrassment. His eyes darted all over her body, not sure where to look: her bust, her hips, her smooth legs in tights, they were all inappropriate to stare at, but he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze again, nor could he tear his eyes away from her completely. He could feel his face turning bright red.

Little did he know that the girl was too busy averting her eyes from his own in a similar manner, tracing her gaze along his chiseled muscles, since he'd left his cloak back at the hill and was wearing only a tank top. Only one man's voice cold break the inadvertent staring contest.

"Yo! Rogue! What are you doing out here?"

Rogue and the girl both snapped out of their trance. "I must be going," the girl said flustered, and before Rogue could protest, she was off down the road. That was weird. Rogue knew her from the Grand Magic Games, and he knew it wasn't like her to be so flustered like that.

"Hey, man! Earth to Rogue! You in there, buddy?"

"Wha- Oh, hi, Sting."

"Say, why were you talking to Kagura?" Sting winked at him.

Rogue blushed. "Oh, what? Nothing! Nothing! She just found Frosch when he was lost, that's all."

Sting raised an eyebrow. "Ah, come on, man! Don't give me that! I'm not judging you! She's pretty, man."

"Fro thinks so, too!"

Rogue stuttered, but was unable to form a comprehensible retort.

"Sting!" an entourage of women wailed from the banquet hall next door where Sting had come from. "Come back to us!"

"Coming, ladies!" Sting called back. "Hey, man. Come on. Go after her. Don't you think it's time you finally got a girlfriend for once?" Sting snickered.

Rogue couldn't explain it, but something in Sting's voice made him mad. He wanted to prove his worth, prove he was just as good as his former partner, prove he could be a ladykiller just like Sting.

"Fine! I'll 'go after her,' goddammit."

Sting grinned as he started walking back towards his entourage. "Glad to hear it, bro.

Little did Rogue know the magnitude of what he had just set in motion.

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to rate and review! It really helps me out, and when you do, it's like highlighting a whole new account of stuff for ****_me_**** to read and rate and review and stuff. Anyways, as always, have a fantabulous day.**


	2. Where There Once was Hatred

**AN: Hi everybody! Thank you soooo much for all the reviews, faves, and follows. I really appreciate all your support, and I'm so glad that people are excited about the Rogura. I agree, there is not nearly enough of this pairing, and it's been hard for me to find many decent fics on the internet. Just an FYI, I tend to update really fast when I'm inspired at the beginning of a fic and then gradually slow down. Hopefully I can keep cranking out a chapter every couple days or so. Without further ado, I give you chapter 2!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 2: Where There Once was Hatred<p>

Mermaid Heel's guildhall was having a fairly quiet day. It wasn't so much there were less people there (although the Master was gone on a business trip), but for some reason a melancholy air hung over the hall. It tended to get that way whenever Kagura got back from one of her missions. Everybody picked up the mood of the strongest woman in the room.

Kagura sat down at a table with a couple of her teammates from the Grand Magic Games and crossed her arms. "Oh, hi, Kagura!" Millianna exclaimed. "Back from your mission, huh? That was a long one!"

"So were you able to take out those monsters?" gushed Arania Webb. Kagura nodded curtly. "Wow, I still can't believe you went on that one by yourself! The job description said they expected at least two S-class mages to be necessary! Why don't you let anyone else come on your missions, Kagura?"

"Yeah, why don't you let us come, Kagura?" Millianna chimed in.

Kagura wasn't listening to them. She was deep in her own thoughts. Ever since her early childhood, she'd spent her entire life searching for her brother, Simon, who'd been taken from her when they were little. Later, she found out that Simon had been killed by a heartless, cruel tyrant- a man named Jellal, who'd spent his life lying to and manipulating his former fellow inmates. After that, she'd lived driven by hatred and blinded by rage. Her one sole purpose became to make Jellal pay dearly for taking her brother's life. When the Master gave her a magic sword as a reward for making S-class, Kagura trained for countless hours perfecting an art of swordplay that allowed her to fight with the sword kept sheathed, so that Archenemy could be saved exclusively for Jellal's blood.

But on the final day of the Grand Magic Games, Kagura had fought Erza Scarlet. Erza had explained a part of the story that Kagura did not understand: it wasn't Jellal's fault because he was under the control of an evil force; rather, it was Erza's for not being strong enough to protect Simon. All of Kagura's rage and pain was suddenly torn away from its source of power, and with nowhere left to turn, attacked Erza. Kagura soon came to realize that it wasn't Erza's fault, either. It wasn't anybody's fault, and therefore a life of single-minded revenge was unfounded and pointless.

It had taken Kagura months to adjust to no longer being angry. So much of her soul had been taken up by rage that when all of that rage disappeared, it left most of her soul a gaping void. She had often gone weeks without eating. She had often done things like stub her toe on purpose just to give herself a reason to be angry.

She was mostly over that now, but Kagura still had no idea what purpose she had left in life. What was the point of living when Simon was gone, and the pain in her heart could no longer be masked by rage? She'd managed to forget the pain through lots of work; the frequency and intensity of the missions she completed had doubled over the last month. She hadn't taken any of her guild members with her because it was too dangerous, and besides, they kept interrupting her thoughts.

"Hellooooo? Earth to Kagura?" Millianna's hand waved in front of Kagura's face.

Kagura snapped out of her space out. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying, Millianna?"

Millianna made a sound that was half-sigh, half-meow. "I was _saying_, that hot guy at the coffee shop in town was asking about you!"

"Isn't that great, Kagura?" Arania exclaimed. "He's like the dreamiest man in all of Northport! Oh, actually, about the cute guy who runs the post office-"

Kagura narrowed her eyes. "Not interested."

"Oh, come on, Kagura!" Millianna mewled. "Don't you think it's time you got a boyfriend? We think it would really be good for you!"

Kagura's eyes narrowed even more. "_Good for me_?"

Millianna and Arania laughed nervously. "Oh, you know… you've been sad ever since the Grand Magic Games," said Millianna. "I mean, trust me, Kagura, I know, coming to terms with forgiving Jellal is hard. But you have to at least try! You can't let hatred define you like that anymore! Even though you don't have it anymore, you're still defined by the lack thereof!"

Arania chimed in. "So… we thought a nice, good-looking guy would cheer you up. I mean, come on, Kagura, isn't there _anyone_ you'd be interested in seeing?"

Images flashed through Kagura's mind: shaggy black hair, dark red eyes full of mystery and brooding. Strong, toned muscles, the result of many years' training and discipline. A strong, kind bond of friendship and fraternity with an adorable Exceed.

Kagura shook her head vigorously. Why was she thinking of him now? Why couldn't she get him out her head the last few days?

"I-I'll think about it," she stammered and walked briskly out of the guildhall. Millianna and Arania were astounded. Kagura had just _stuttered_.

There was a very light drizzle hovering through the air of the seaside town of Northport, the home of the Mermaid Heel guild. Kagura didn't mind. As long as she got some peace and quiet, she didn't care how wet she got.

Kagura's secret thinking place was empty as always. It was a hidden cove etched into the face of a nearby cliff that looked out over the sea. Kagura sat on one of her makeshift stools and watched the sun drop down over the water.

Rogue stared in apprehension up the face of the cliff. Yeah, this must be where they said to go. Man, it was hard for him to make out what those two Mermaid Heel mages were saying through all that giggling. The only thing left to do now would be to climb. "Hop on my shoulder, Frosch, and hold on tight," he instructed the little Exceed.

The cliff was wet and slippery. Rogue almost lost his grip multiple times. He periodically took breaks to rest and recover his strength, smiling at Frosch's mumblings of encouragement. How this lady did this every day, he would never know.

Rogue sighed in relief as he pulled himself over the top. He jumped and almost fell off the edge when he looked up and saw the sword pointed at his face. When Kagura saw who'd climbed the cliff to reach her secret spot, her face registered for a moment surprise, and then a look of suspicion. She lowered her sword. "What are you doing here, Rogue? How did you find me?"

Rogue stood up and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I… uh…"

Frosch spoke up. "Rogue loves you!"

Kagura sweatdropped; Rogue cried out and collapsed on the floor in surprise. "Why, hello, Frosch," she cuddled the little Exceed as Rogue picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"He must be tired," Rogue said. "Spouting nonsense."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Kagura allowed herself to smile a bit. This cat made her feel the happiest she had in a long while. "So, Rogue… care to answer my questions, then?"

"Oh! Of course. Your two friends told me you were probably up here, so I came looking for you. And as for why I'm here…"

Rogue reached inside his cloak and pulled out a tattered bouquet of about five flowers. They were lilacs. "I picked you these," he mumbled without looking at her. "As thanks for finding Frosch. They're the same color as your hair. Made me think of you."

Kagura accepted the flowers. She felt a strange feeling in her heart. Despite the lack of many flowers, their poor condition, and their color being a few shades lighter than her hair, she was strangely… touched.

"Th-thank you, Rogue. But this isn't necessary. I'd be more than happy to look after Frosch for you anytime if you need me to."

Rogue cleared his throat. "Well, um, there's actually something else I wanted to ask you. Would you like to… get lunch or something sometime next week? Or do something else?"

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Yes, next week, I would like to do something else besides get lunch."

Rogue slapped his forehead. "No, no, I mean… let's just get lunch, okay?" He was _so_ not good at this. Sting would've already been heading to the date right now.

Kagura crossed her arms. "Sorry, but I'm busy. I just took a mission that will likely take up all my time next week."

Frosch chimed in. "Fro wants to come!"

Kagura's reflex should've been to automatically deny anyone tagging along. After all, this mission was the most dangerous one yet, and certainly not fit for someone as weak as Frosch. But because she liked Frosch so much, she actually really _wanted_ him to come. And for some reason she couldn't understand, she wanted Frosch's best friend to come even more.

Rogue smiled wryly and looked at Kagura's eyes instead of the floor for the first time. "Perhaps Frosch and I could assist you on your mission."

_Say no. Say no, you idiot. Missions are for alone time._ "Sure," she found herself saying. "Let's meet at the train station tomorrow at seven sharp."

"It's a deal," said Rogue, and held out his hand to shake. Kagura stepped forward to take his hand, but slipped on a wet patch of floor and toppled face-first. Rogue caught her without thinking. Strange, she felt oddly petite and fragile, even though Rogue knew she could kick his ass.

Kagura was leaning against Rogue with her hands at his shoulders, and looked up at his eye, their faces only inches apart. "Oh… thanks for catching me," she said distractedly. _Wow, his shoulders feel so nice,_ she thought. _Wait, what?_

"Don't mention it," Rogue said quickly. His thoughts were hazy. Kagura's eyes were a light shade of creamy hazel. They were very nice to look at. Rogue felt something soft pressing against his chest. He looked down. His eyes widened, frozen in place. Exerting the greatest amount of willpower possible, he tore his eyes away back to her face, at the same time Kagura looked back towards his. They both simply stared for some indeterminate, irrelevant amount of time. Rogue opened his mouth-

Frosch yawned. "Fro is hungry," he complained. "Can we go get something to eat, Rogue?"

Rogue and Kagura both suddenly realized the position they were in and jumped backwards in surprise. "Y-yeah, Frosch," Rogue stammered. "Some food does sound good right about now."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Kagura, alarmed, notice that the sun had almost finished setting. Just how long had she and Rogue been standing there like that? Kagura was not so dim that she didn't notice the prominent blush on Rogue's cheeks, and she was sure he wasn't either.

"…See you tomorrow," Kagura said to Rogue without meeting his eyes. "Remember, seven sharp."

"Of course," Rogue said. "Come on, Frosch, let's go." He walked out of the cave. He was so distracted that he didn't realize he walking right over the edge of a cliff.

Rogue screamed the whole twenty feet down to the ocean waves. Kagura cringed when he hit the bottom. "He'll be alright, won't he?" she asked kind of worried.

"Fro thinks so too!"

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><p><strong>I gave Rogue a very Natsu-like moment to indicate how flustered he gets around Kagura. Hopefully that wasn't too OOC! Oh, random disclaimer- I am choosing to interpret Frosch as a boy. On the official wiki, his gender is currently listed as "unknown." So, if anyone in the future reads this, I'm sorry if Frosch turns out to be a girl. Now, don't forget to rate and review! Let me know your thoughts, and also you get free advertising for your account! I promise I'll go check out your stories. It's a win-win! So, I will see you guys next time. Have a sicktastic day, broskis.<strong>


	3. Ghost of a Wound

**AN: Hi everybody! Cranked out another chapter for you guys! (Instead of doing my homework, go figure.) I am seriously so touched by all the faves, follows, and reviews! I'm so glad you all are enjoying this story. I'm reading some nice stories from people's profiles too. If I forget to check out your stories, please, feel free to remind me in a PM or in a review. Now, without further ado, I give you Chapter 3!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 3: Ghost of a Wound<p>

Kagura waited impatiently at the train station. It was twenty past seven. Rogue was late. Kagura had already missed one train because of him. She wasn't going to miss another one.

As the minutes went by, Kagura grew more and more agitated. Where _was_ Rogue?

After ten more minutes, the next train came. Kagura sighed, in half relief and half disappointment. It looked like she would be going alone after all. She started to board the train.

"Kagura, wait up!"

Kagura wheeled around in surprise to see Rogue with Frosch holding onto his back, gliding down onto the platform. "Sorry I'm late," he greeted her. "It was _not_ a good idea to have Frosch fly us here."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Kagura regarded him coldly. "That's no excuse. Now come on, you already made us miss one train." She turned around and marched onto the train, not waiting to see if Rogue followed or not.

When Kagura collapsed onto the seat in an empty car, she saw Rogue and Frosch sit on the seat opposite her. She angrily refused to return Rogue's greeting. _This_ was why she went solo.

"Kagura?" A little voice spoke. "Fro is sorry. Fro tried his best but- but he got lost. Please don't be mad at Rogue." The poor Exceed was tearing up. Kagura felt all her anger melt away. Some big sister she was!

"Oh, no, it's okay, Frosch. I'm sorry, it's not a big deal. Come here." Frosch smiled and padded over to sit on Kagura's lap. She looked pointedly at Rogue's eyes. "I'm sorry. It's really no big deal."

Rogue smiled and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh, no worries. I mean, we _were_ pretty late, after all!" Kagura was oddly impressed with the guy. He took all this in stride, even though she was the one acting unreasonably.

The train started to move, and Rogue collapsed onto his side with his hand over his mouth, taking up a full seat all by himself. Kagura sweatdropped, and Frosch laughed.

"Uh, I thought motion sickness was _Natsu's_ weakness…" said Kagura.

"All dragonslayers- *urp*- develop it eventually," Rogue managed.

"Are you okay, Rogue?" Frosch asked worriedly. Rogue nodded. "Fro thinks so too!"

_Well, doesn't look like this train ride will have too much in the way of conversation,_ Kagura thought. Frosch curled up and went to sleep on her lap. _He has the right idea._ "Hey Rogue? I'm going to try to get some sleep. Wake me up when we get there." She paused. "Or if you need anything," she added.

Rogue managed a nod. His face was a pale shade of green. Kagura leaned back and closed her eyes.

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><p>There was Kagura's hometown, Rosemary Village, exactly as she remembered it. She was a small child, and her home was in flames. Dark cultists ran around snatching children and stuffing them into bags. Kagura turned left to right in desperation. Where was Simon? They couldn't have taken him already. Not again. They did every night.<p>

A small hand took her own, and led her down a nearby alleyway, into the main square. It was the childhood version of Erza Scarlet, leading Kagura to safety. Suddenly Erza disappeared. In the center of the plaza appeared a tall man with messy blue hair, and a glowing red tattoo underneath and above his right eye. _Jellal_. Jellal raised his fists above his head. In between them was a pulsating mass of pure death magic.

In front of Kagura appeared the same man she saw every night. He was tall and muscular, his torso loosely covered by a light cloth, his hair wrapped in a turban. Around his face was some sort of brace, made of silver, with teeth-like designs etched into the jaw. An eye patch covered his left eye. He smiled at Kagura, then turned around and held his arms out in a protective gesture, as if he were shielding her. As she did every night, Kagura wondered who this man was, and why he was protecting her.

Jellal's form flickered. He transformed into Erza Scarlet. She leapt forward, sword in hand, and cleaved the man in two from the head down. Kagura screamed and tried to run, but her feet were fixed to the ground, her frozen and staring straight ahead. She reached out a hand, but then felt an unimaginable pain in her abdomen.

Kagura looked down to see Archenemy's blade protruding from her stomach. Even though this had happened countless times before, the shock was still the same. Kagura could feel the pain and heat beginning to overtake her. Her eyes fluttered shut…

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><p>"Kagura! Kagura, wake up!"<p>

Kagura opened her eyes to see Rogue leaning over her, his hand on her shoulder, an overwhelmingly concerned look on his face. "Are you alright? That must have been one hell of a dream."

"Fro thinks so too…"

Kagura realized she was on the floor of the train car. She cursed herself for being so dumb. Just because she hadn't had the dream for weeks meant it was gone, right? Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Seriously, Kagura. What happened?" She could feel his hand trembling on her shoulder. He was incredibly nervous, and scared. In his eyes was some unidentifiable feeling. It felt like somehow Rogue could sense her pain, and was trying to share some of the burden himself.

"I… I'm all right. Don't worry." Her hand absentmindedly found its way to her stomach, where Minerva had stabbed her. Even though the wound hadn't actually hurt in months, it still had some sort of dull throb.

Rogue clearly didn't look convinced, so Kagura strained and put on her stern face. "Hey, how can you move, anyway?"

Rogue started. "Oh, god! I forgot! The train stopped moving a couple minute ago, we've got to get off now!"

That put Kagura into high gear. Without thinking, she slung Rogue over her shoulder and tucked Frosch under her arm. She ignored Rogue's protests and dashed off the train, leaping from the door just as it started to move again. She dumped Rogue unceremoniously onto the ground, barely panting from the exertion.

Rogue grumbled and stood up, brushing himself off. "Was that really necessary?" Kagura did not deign to reply.

"So," she started. "Our mission is pretty simple. We're to track down the remnants of a small dark guild in the woods surrounding this town. The dark guild is actually a relatively powerful one, despite not being part of the Big Three, o it's important for us to be on our guard. Frosch, it might be best for you to stay in town. We don't want to risk you getting hurt."

Frosch clung to Rogue's shin. "Fro wants to go with Rogue!"

Rogue petted the little Exceed's head. "Don't worry," he said with a serious look on his face. "I'll make sure to protect Frosch." He and Frosch looked so determined, so inseparable, that Kagura knew it would be pointless to argue.

"Fine!" she said. "Just make sure not to get in my way."

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><p>The encounter would have gone a lot worse for them if Kagura hadn't expected to be ambushed. The first few attackers who leapt from the trees were sliced down in a flash. Kagura barely gave them a glance. The rest of the dark guild's forces poured into the clearing, surrounding Kagura: around twenty or so men wearing masks, dressed in light battle armor, wielding various magic weapons. Rogue grabbed Frosch and melted into the shadows of the surrounding trees.<p>

The first five men surged forward towards Kagura. Kagura sliced the first one's sword in half, then parried and twisted her body to catch the other four's weapons. She twisted and flicked downwards, disarming the rest of the attackers, then cut all five down in one fell swoop.

The rest of the men backed up warily to the edge of the clearing, before realizing that there were still fifteen of them and only one of her. They all surged forward with renewed confidence. Unfortunately for them, when they reached the edge of the clearing, dark hands pulled several of them into the shadows, from which they did not emerge. Now it was merely ten mortals against Kagura.

They foolishly attacked three or four at a time. Kagura easily dodged, parried, and disarmed her attackers, then cut each one down where they stood. _Well, that was boring,_ she thought.

Kagura suddenly felt a sharp pain in her upper back. She collapsed to her knees, feeling a circle of numbness spread outward from the painful spot. She groped around her back, found a knife, then pulled it out with a gasp. But the pain didn't stop. The poison kept spreading up her arms, down her legs. Through hazy vision she saw a short, black-garbed figure with a black bandanna tied around his eyes leap down in front of her.

"You're…" she gasped. "Shinai, the blind assassin. But you're from the Southern Wolves guild. What are you doing working for a dark guild?"

The man cackled. "Hey, times are tough, what can I say? I'll work for whoever's got the jewels. And I think your head will fetch me quite the bounty, miss Kagura!"

An explosion of darkness billowed around where Shinai was standing. Rogue emerged from it. "Looks like he won't be hurting anybody anymore."

"I beg to differ," said his voice from behind Kagura. Kagura tried to turn around, but just the thought of moving made her woozy. She saw Rogue cup his hands around his mouth. "Shadow Dragon…"

Kagura felt herself being pulled up by her hair, a sharp blade being pressed to her throat. "I'd cut that out, boy, or the girl gets it," threatened Shinai. _Goddammit,_ thought Kagura. _I'm so useless. If it weren't for this poison draining my energy, I could use my Gravity Magic…_ She tried to open her mouth, to tell Rogue it was okay, that the mission was more important than her life, but she couldn't speak. The poison had spread up to her neck.

Rogue didn't even hesitate to stand down. He raised his hands in surrender and kneeled down, his head towards the ground.

A flash of silver zoomed past Kagura's blurry vision. It sped right into Rogue's chest. Despite the pain, Kagura's mouth opened into a scream.

Suddenly Rogue's body erupted in darkness. His arms became covered in dark curving runes. His hair spiked up, and black triangular runes encircled his chin. Shadows curled off him like steam. He radiated pure, unadulterated evil.

Rogue stood up and pulled the dagger from his chest. "Thanks for weakening Rogue for me, Shinai. I rarely get to come out and play. We're going to have so much fun."

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><p><strong>Hope you guys liked this chapter! Not a whole ton of Rogura per se in this chapter, but that will be remedied next chapter I promise! ;) As always, thanks for reading, and don't forget to rate and review! It helps me out, and it also lets me know about new accounts with sweet stories for me to enjoy, which I will happily rate and review and stuff. Anyways, hope you all have a totally rad day.<strong>


	4. Keep Me Strong

**AN: Oh my god, you guys' reviewing is making me so inspired! This is my second chapter update in was many days! *Borat voice* HIGH FIVEEEE!**

**Notice: I may or may not have listened to "Monster" by Skillet twenty times before writing this. You've been warned.**

**Seriously, you guys are the absolute bomb dot com. Thank you so much for all your kind words. It really means the world to me. Enjoy!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 4: Keep Me Strong<p>

The way Rogue felt was both familiar and foreign. He was embedded inside a shadow in the ground- that wasn't unusual. He'd been able to turn back and forth between shadows for almost as long as he could remember. The unusual part was how he felt bound to something- that almost never happened before. Instead of his body becoming a shadow, immaterial and free, only his soul had been changed, and had become the shadow _of_ his body, chained to a mortal vessel. He'd only felt this once before- when he had fought Gajeel. _But if my soul's in this shadow,_ he thought, _then who's controlling my body?_

It had to be him. Rogue's shadow contained a deeply evil spirit that came out to control him in times of extreme danger or stress- when his body and soul were at their weakest. Rogue tried to retake control of his body, but it was no use. Shadow had complete control and didn't even pay attention to Rogue. All Rogue could do was watch.

"St-stay back, dude! I'm telling you, the girl's gonna get it if you don't back off!" Shinai's voice was trembling. Kagura looked terrible. Her arms and legs were turning purple from the poison. Her eyes were barely open. The only thing keeping her semi-upright was Shinai's rough grip on her hair.

Rogue heard himself laugh. "As if I could care. Just try it. It'll make it more fun for me."

Before Shinai could do anything, though, Shadow disappeared. He traveled through the ground in the form of a silhouette, faster than the eye could follow. He burst out of the ground with a Shadow Dragon's slash right across the face, sending Kagura slumping to the ground, straining to lift her head. Rogue screamed her name and reached out to her, but Rogue had no mouth to make a sound and no hand to reach out with.

Shinai rebounded and a magic circle appeared. Twenty poisoned daggers sped toward Shadow, but he disappeared as they neared their mark. He reappeared at close range. "Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!" Ribbons of night curled from Shadow's fingertips and wreathed around Shinai's body, binding him to a nearby tree. Rogue watched helplessly as Shadow tilted back Shinai's head, placed his left hand under his chin, and his pointer and middle fingers of the other hand on Shinai's forehead.

"Tell me, Shinai. Do you have a dark soul?"

Shinai was unable to answer. His babbling was completely incoherent.

Shadow smiled. "You're afraid. Yes, that is good. Fearful souls are always tastier."

"T-t-t-_tastier_?"

"Of course. I _am_ the other half of the Shadow dragon slayer, after all. I eat the shadows. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last fed? I couldn't feed on Gajeel because his soul wasn't dark enough. But you- yes, you'll do just fine."

Shadow flexed his jaw muscles in anticipation. "Dragon slayer's secret art- Dark Soul Extraction!" He slowly drew his right hand away from Shinai's forehead, then placed it back again and repeated the motion. A dark cloud of magic energy started to stream from Shinai's mouth, slowly at first and then faster and faster. Shinai screamed in pure, saturated agony as Shadow started to suck up little streams of his humanity down his throat, moaning in pleasure. "Oh, yes, this sensation… how I've missed it…"

"Stop!"

Rogue and Shadow both wheeled around to see Kagura, now standing, leaning on her sword. Her voice was hoarse, and she looked about to collapse, but Rogue could still feel the raw pride and power rolling off her. "I know this isn't you, Rogue. You would never do something so _wrong_. Now, I want you to get back under control, you hear? If you don't you'll have to answer to _me_."

_I wish that I could,_ Rogue thought ruefully.

"Fro thinks so, too!"

Rogue's eyes widened. Frosch had left his hiding place in the woods and was marching towards Shadow. "Fro thinks you should get out of Rogue's body right now!" Rogue was doing his best to look brave, and it was honestly probably the bravest thing he'd ever done, but Rogue could tell he was scared.

Shadow wiped a few remnants of shadow from his mouth and leered down at Frosch. "So I get to take over when you die, is that right? Maybe I should speed up the process, little guy!" Shadow's fists became cloaked in darkness, their power amplified by the energy he'd derived from his soul-snacking.

Shadow's fists dropped towards Frosch. "ROGUE, NO!" Kagura screamed. The looks on their faces- Kagura's was rage mixed with the pain of watching an inevitable tragedy, Frosch's was a mixture of terror and trust, trust that Rogue would pull through, trust that his friend was still there, deep down. _I'm here, Frosch, Kagura,_ Rogue thought with all his might. _I'm still here. I'm still here. I'm still here._

Kagura watched as Rogue suddenly stopped. His fists froze in midair, the shadows around them slowly fading away. The runes carved all over his arms and face glowed darkly for a second, then disappeared. Rogue slumped to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Frosch. I'm so, so sorry."

Kagura lost the remainder of her strength and collapsed. The last thing she heard before she passed out was Rogue's panicked voice: "Healing lacrima! Where'd I put my goddamn healing lacrima?"

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><p>"Will she be okay, Rogue?"<p>

Kagura felt a cold hand on her forehead. It felt so nice there- the effect was a good kind of tranquilizing, calming. Her forehead always seemed like it was a little too hot for some reason, but now it was the perfect temperature. She opened her eyes, but couldn't see anything except the inside of the hand.

"Her temperature's going down. Maybe her fever's dropping?"

"Fro thinks so, too!"

Wait, that sounded like… wait. Oh, yeah. It all came rushing back to Kagura now. She pulled the hand away from her face and sat up straight. She quicly scaned her surroundings. She was in the same clearing in the woods, but it was now dark. A small fire blazed a few feet to her right. All the dark guild mages were bound to the surrounding trees and knocked unconscious. She rested in a small, but surprisingly comfortable bed made of moss and leaves. Directly in front of her knelt a certain Shadow dragon slayer, who was now about eye level with her. At her left stood Frosch, clearly surprised she was awake so soon.

"Are you okay?" said Rogue, clearly concerned. "I don't know if I was able to get quite all of the poison out. You should rest more."

"No, I'm fine, I think. Whatever you did, it worked. I feel much stronger already." She was avoiding his eyes. Of course, how could she not? When she looked at Rogue, she still saw the same dark marks, the same evil grin, and the same eerie dull glow in his eyes, even though all those things were no longer there.

"Look, Kagura…" Rogue started, putting a hand on each of her shoulders. "I know that must've been scary. What I _don't_ know is how to come to terms with it. It calls itself my Shadow, and I think the spirit resides within my actual shadow and switches bodies with me when I'm weak. And that's why I need you to help me. I can't let myself ever be physically or emotionally weak, because then he'll take me over again." Rogue shook Kagura's shoulders a little bit, which he knew he shouldn't have, but it was just a product his fear and desperation. "Please, I need you to help me be strong. I can't afford to lose you now."

Kagura steeled herself, and forced herself to look into his eyes. They were the same brooding red, not the evil black. They were full of sadness, but also full of hope, full of caring- for Frosch, and… for someone else?

"Calm down, Rogue. I wouldn't let that happen to anyone if I had the power to prevent it, much less you. I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

There they were again- mesmerized by each other's eyes. Rogue's hands still gripped Kagura's shoulders, but she didn't care. It could've gone on like this forever.

Frosch yawned. "Fro is tired. Fro will sleep now. Let's go eat in the morning, okay, Rogue?"

Rogue smiled. "Of course, Frosch. Sleep well." He gently let go of Kagura's shoulders and let her rest against the bed of mosses and leaves. She was still relatively weak, and sore, sore all over.

"Is Shinai…" Kagura started, then quickly silenced herself.

Rogue shook his head. "He's gone," he stated emptily. "Sure, he wasn't a nice man, and he tried to kill us, but… No one deserves that. No one."

"Rogue." Rogue knelt down to her eye level again. She took his hand. "You cannot- I repeat, _cannot_- blame yourself for what happened to that man. It is in no way your fault. Do you understand? Repeat after me."

"Why would I do that?"

"To get it through your thick skull. Now, repeat: What happened to him was not my fault."

"What happened to him was not my fault." Rogue paused. "You know, you were right. I do feel better now."

"I'm always right," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, yeah." Rogue mumbled. "I'm going to go replenish the firewood. I'll be right outside the clearing. Call me if you need anything."

Kagura nodded, and Rogue left. He was gone for far too long. Kagura started to get agitated. She almost called his name several times for no reason, but had to restrain herself because that would've been embarrassing. The soreness in her body, especially her shoulders, just kept gnawing away at her stamina.

When Rogue returned, Kagura heaved a humongous sigh, her body letting loose a hugely coiled spring of tension. Rogue looked at her strangely as he dumped the firewood next to the fire. "Something wrong?"

Kagura blushed. "No, no, nothing at all." She paused. "Hey, Rogue."

"Yes?"

"My shoulders are really sore."

"And?"

"Could you… massage them?"

Rogue's face instantly turned as red as a beet. "Uh… I mean…"

Kagura looked down. "Never mind."

"No, no, no! I mean, it's fine, I'd be happy to… I just wasn't expecting it. Here."

Rogue sat down behind her, and Kagura scooched backwards so she was sitting on top of his outstretched legs. She leaned her back against his chest. Rogue gingerly put his hands on her shoulders and began to squeeze in rolling motions, rubbing the stress out of her muscles.

"That's not hard enough," she instructed. "It won't do anything." Rogue pressed so hard she could feel her shoulder blades starting to dislocate. "Ack! No, that's too hard!"

"Geez, make up your mind already, Kagura!" Rogue chuckled. They continued to bicker about it for a while, but soon Rogue got the hang of it and they just sat there in silence for a while, both secretly enjoying the mutual intimacy that didn't need to lead anywhere. Rogue's chest was like the perfect backrest- soft and supple, but firm, with enough support that she didn't have to do any real work holding herself up.

"Your hair is beautiful," she heard Rogue say out of the blue.

Kagura was glad Rogue wasn't able to see her blush.

"What do you mean? Why say that, all of a sudden?"

"Oh, I was just thinking- it still looks purple, even in the dark. I mean, everything else looks black. _My_ hair _always_ looks black. But yours- still purple."

"That's probably because there's light from the fire."

"Oh, shut up! Here I was saying something poetic and you had to go and ruin it!" Rogue said teasingly. He began to tickle her relentlessly.

Kagura was extremely ticklish, but fortunately she was pretty good at suppressing it. "Hey," she said, giggling and snapping her fingers. "Massage!" Rogue grumbled and went back to her shoulders.

More time passed, some indeterminate amount of time that would be forever lost to the world. It could've been ten minutes, it could've been ten seconds. The actual amount of time would have been irrelevant to those two, as long as the other was in that same time frame.

Finally Rogue stopped rubbing her shoulders. "We'd better get some sleep. It's a long walk back to town tomorrow."

Kagura agreed. They both lay down on their sides, each of their backs resting against the other's. Right before Kagura fell asleep, she wasn't thinking straight and just said whatever popped into her head at the moment.

"Rogue, I think I love you."

Rogue snored. Kagura smiled and closed her eyes.

There would be no dreams that night.

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><p><strong>Wow. I really hope this gives you guys goosebomps the way it does to me. That's how I know I did my job right. Anyway, thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to rate and review! Let me know your thoughts, and get free advertising for your own endeavors in writing. As always, guys, have an absolutely wonderful day. That's an order. Seriously. Even if your day sucks, make it an awesome one. If life gives you lemons, kick life in the balls and say "Ha! I got your lemons."<strong>


	5. One Very Big Misunderstanding

**AN: Heeey guys! Sorry for this update being a bit late, I was out in Connecticut last weekend for some fencing tournaments (speaking of which, I'm now qualified for the Junior Olympics! How cool is that?) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Actually, you probably won't. Hehehehe**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 5: One Very Big Misunderstanding<p>

It was very early in the morning, and for once, Sting was still in the apartment when Rogue woke up. Sting was always so busy, Rogue had forgotten they were living together.

Rogue found Sting standing shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror, flexing and generally admiring himself. Rogue simply stood and watched in bemusement for a few minutes, and would have continued to do so had Sting not noticed him.

"Gah!" he jumped. "How long have you been just _standing_ there, Rogue?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rogue replied calmly. "Don't you have any _duties_ to be taken care of?"

Sting turned slowly away from the mirror. Rogue suddenly saw just how bloodshot his corneas were, how deeply the circles sunk under his eyes. "Oh, so that's what this is about, huh?" Rogue barely heard Sting whisper.

"What? _What's_ about?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed, you bastard. You're always sleeping late, so I don't ever see you in the morning. Then, when I'm off doing busywork during the day, _you're_ doing _her_."

Rogue was completely taken aback. "Wait, what? Who are you talking about, Sting?"

"Yukino, of course… Dick!" Sting slurred. He stumbled forward and tried to slap Rogue, but Rogue easily caught Sting's wrist with one hand.

"I…" Sting panted. "I tried to do everything I could for her… But she's always so shy, staying at a distance from me…" Sting stopped to pant and catch his breath. Something was definitely not right here. "And she's so polite, she doesn't know how to say no… meaning a selfish bastard like _you_ could force yourself on her."

"Sting, you're not making sense. Please, just-"

"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Sting suddenly roared. "YOUR GODDAM INFERIORITY COMPLEX! I MEAN, JUST BECAUSE I GET MORE FUCKING GIRLS THAN YOU, YOU STEAL THE ONE GIRL THAT MATTERS TO ME… that seems fair to you, does it?" Pause. "DOES IT?" Sting hiccupped, then burst into a coughing fit. His eyelids snapped shut, and he would've collapsed to his knees if Rogue hadn't been holding him up. Rogue took a whiff of Sting's breath and shuddered.

"Sting… you're sick. And drunk. And probably high. I don't get it. What's been going on with you?"

A furry face poked its way around the corner. It was Lector. He was clearly distraught.

"For the past month, Sting's been partying in secret, for much too late every night. It's not good for his health, and it's affecting the quality of his daily duties, but he said it's the only way 'he can forget.' I've been trying to warn him, and get him to stop, but he won't listen to me. Please, Rogue, you have to help me! You have to help Sting get better!"

Rogue stared at the pitiful man he now held up by one arm. All this time, he'd thought Sting had been the one to leave _him_ behind. But what if it was the other way around? Maybe Rogue was the bad friend. Rogue just left Sting to shoulder the burden of a job he clearly wasn't fit to do all by himself. No wonder Sting blamed him (however mistakenly) in his weird drunken rant. Rogue _was_ a bad friend.

"Come on, Lector. I'm going to tuck him in bed. You go get him some medicine from the market. Think you can handle that?"

Lector bowed. "Of course! Thank you so much, Rogue!"

Frosch yawned and climbed out of his miniature bed. "What's going on? Why is Master Sting dead?"

Rogue frantically carried Sting's limp body over to his bed and tucked him in. "He's just sick, Frosch. We're staying home today, so we can help him get better."

"Fro wants to help!"

Rogue smiled. "Okay. You can go to the market with Lector to get Sting's medicine. Just remember- _stay with Lector_. You can't get lost, alright?"

Frosch nodded. "Fro thinks so too!"

After the Exceeds left, Rogue tended to Sting as best he could. Sting appeared to be running a fever, so Rogue gave him lots of blankets and a cold towel over his forehead. He heated up some tea just in case Sting woke up and he was thirsty. Then he just sat at Sting's side, an anxious hand on Sting's shoulder, and waited.

Sting came to in about five minutes. Lector and Frosch still hadn't come back yet, so Rogue had nothing to offer him but tea. Sting accepted the tea. "Is that… you, Rogue? What's going on here?"

"You were in terrible shape, Sting. You need to rest. None of your 'duties' for today."

Sting closed his eyes again. "Yes…" he mumbled. "Rest…"

Suddenly his eyes snapped open. "Oh, crap! I'm late for the guild Masters' meeting!" Sting tried to get out of bed, but only succeeded in lifting his back another two inches from the mattress.

Rogue put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "What do you mean, Sting? Explain what's going on."

Sting lay back down on the bedframe, his voice quivering, struggling to speak clearly. "The guild Masters are having their monthly conference today. They discuss a lot of important affairs. If a guild's master doesn't show up, that's a serious blow to honor and logistical status for both the Master and the entire guild! I have to go now!"

Rogue looked down at his old partner struggling with all his might to get out of bed, so he could go fulfill a job that he'd neither asked for nor been prepared to take on, and yet had responded to the responsibility astoundingly well. In that moment, the Rogue's decision was unanimous among his neurons.

"I'll go."

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><p>Rogue's legs wobbled as he staggered off the train into Clover Station. Hopefully Lector would get his note and make sure Sting got his rest. And hopefully Frosch would be all right without him. Who knows, he could've gotten lost or hurt or sick himself, or maybe he was really, really hungry and forgot where the food was stored again…<p>

Rogue slapped himself twice on each of his cheeks. _Focus, Rogue. This is the time for business._ He took a deep breath and entered the hall where the guild Masters would meet.

They'd done a good job rebuilding this place after Fairy Tail had famously destroyed it seven years ago. Rogue remembered how crazy Sting had gone when he found out that Natsu had defeated the Lullaby demon (Sting chose to leave out the fact that Natsu had had help). The building was cylindrical in shape, composed of fifty or so compartments that looked out over a central circular area. Draped over each of these compartments was a large banner depicting the guild's mark. Rogue slipped through the crowd, found Sabertooth's banner, and was about to sit down when three rounds from a large gavel rang through the room.

"Order!" proclaimed a no-nonsense looking young man with a Magic Council seal on his robes. "We will now start the proceedings. From Quatro Puppy… Goldmine! Take your seat."

"That name was only supposed to last for the tournament…" grumbled Quatro Puppy's master as he made his way towards his seat.

Each of the guild Masters was called up one by one to take their seats. Some of them were from guilds so obscure that Rogue had never even heard of them before. He did recognize some, however: Makarov of Fairy Tail, of course; Bob, of Blue Pegasus; and Ooba Babasaama, of Lamia Scale. "From Mermaid Heel… Marina! Take your seat."

_Oh, _thought Rogue,_ she's actually fairly famous, but I've never seen her before. She's always busy, so I've heard._

That was funny, because Rogue definitely _had_ seen the woman who walked out there before.

Wait.

"You're not Marina," the Magic Council representative stated the obvious.

Kagura bowed. "My apologies. She is very busy, and so she sent me in her stead.

"I don't know why you're surprised," someone called from the audience. "She never attends meetings!" The catcaller was quickly shut down by a baleful glare from Kagura, who calmly walked over and took her seat. Rogue was desperately resisting the urge to call out to her. _Remember, Rogue. Business. Business. Business._

"From Sabertooth… Sting! Take your seat."

Rogue took a deep breath, and for the first time, walked into the spotlight all by himself.

At first, he just got stares. Then, people started whispering. "Wait, where's Sting, and why's his lame old partner here?"

"It's not fair, I was counting on Sting to get my dreamy fix for the day!"

"Sting always has the best jokes! I was counting on him to lighten the mood of this drab meeting!"

Rogue cleared his throat. "Master Sting is deeply ill and therefore unable to attend the meeting. I am here to substitute as best I can."

He walked away as fast as he could towards his seat up in the stands. He was so focused on his destination that he didn't notice who was sitting directly next to him.

"Hi, Rogue."

Kagura gave him a friendly smile. "Strange coincidence, isn't it?"

_This cannot be happening to me. Kagura just watched me get humiliated in by the entire federation of guild Masters. I am absolutely pathetic. I must focus on business to prove I'm just as good as Sting. Can't allow myself to get distracted._

Rogue was staring straight ahead. "Uh, Rogue? Hello?" Kagura waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't even blink. _What's going on? Did I do something wrong?_

The meeting started. Rogue tried his best to focus, but the topics of discussion were positively dull, and he was not prepared to engage himself in them. He found his eyes wandering over to Kagura, who of course was focusing intently on the discussion, adding her opinions when necessary.

Rogue just kept sneaking peeks at her. He couldn't help himself. This would be the last time he'd ever get to be near her, after all. After the meeting was over, she would go off to fantasize about Sting like all the rest. After all, who would want to be friends with some loser like Rogue?

This time, Rogue's eyes did not manage to avoid the danger zone. Despite the brevity of their contact, they soon were completely transfixed, mesmerized by Kagura's beauty.

Rogue could tell she had caught him staring.

_Great. Now I'm a loser, I'm not good at politics, I'm way less good-looking than my partner, _and_ I'm a pervert._

Kagura pondered Rogue with a puzzled expression on her face. He seemed deeply troubled by something. Something other than the whole "Shadow" thing. She wondered whether she should ask him now. Or maybe not. _No! This could be my only chance for a long time!_

A billion years later, the meeting finally ended. As the other guild Masters started filing out of the meeting hall, Kagura grabbed one of Rogue's hands with both of her own. "Rogue, I really need to ask you something."

_She's going to ask about Sting, isn't she._

Rogue's eyes were opened incredibly wide. In each of them was the look of a cornered animal. Kagura could feel the sweat on the back of his palm.

Kagura ran the words through her mind before she could say them.

She opened her mouth.

Rogue stood up and tore his hand from her grasp. "No. I know what you're going to ask, Kagura. And my answer is no. No, no, no! You're going to have to find him on your own!" Rogue ran out of the hall as fast as his legs could carry him.

All that was left on Kagura's hands were beads of Rogue's sweat and a few of his tears.

Kagura's words were still stuck in her throat: _Unbeknownst to myself, I've been searching for someone who completes me, who fills the hole in my heart that used to be taken up by revenge. Do you think that someone could be you?"_

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><p><strong>Gah! Rogue, you fool, come back! Come back!<strong>

**I'm sorry about that, guys.**

**I really am.**

**Anyways, don't forget to rate and review. Express your sorrow and displeasure to me. Trust me, I can handle it!**

**Jokes aside. Thanks for reading. Have a day that doesn't suck.**


	6. One Very Big Misunderstanding, Part II

**AN: Hi everyone! 'Nother chapter for you guys coming right up! Hopefully this will be a little more to your liking. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out, so any feedback is super-especially appreciated this time around. Enjoy!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 6: One Very Big Misunderstanding, Part II<p>

Three days later, Kagura looked up at the massive building that was the Sabertooth guildhall. Once regarded as the strongest guild in Fiore, it still boasted many of the trimmings that came from such prestige.

The bronze double doors swung open inwardly as Kagura marched inside. The members of Sabertooth backed away in fear, sensing the aura of intense anger radiating from the woman. Kagura stormed towards a large door at the back of the room. On it was engraved a small placard in gold: _Master Sting_.

The walls of Sting Euclifffe's office were painted white, the color barely visible through the thick layer of pictures. The pictures were mostly of Sting and Lector, but some of Rogue and Frosch were mixed in as well. Above his desk was hung a large portrait of Natsu and Gajeel slugging it out. His desk itself was covered in stacks of papers piled two, three feet high. These were covered by a fine layer of dust. In the corner was a large glass case filled with trophies. Sting himself sat in a swivel chair, his back to Kagura.

Kagura spoke through gritted teeth, her words slow and sharp. "Where. Is. Rogue?"

Silence. It lasted an eternity.

"How dare _you_ ask me that," said Sting finally. "You, of all people." He swiveled his chair around to face her. His eyes were completely bloodshot, the skin underneath them purple and sagging. Throbbing veins were visible on his forehead.

"Rogue hasn't come home for five days. We're all worried sick. Frosch hasn't stopped crying. So I hear from some other Masters that you said something to him and he ran off, and that's the last time anybody ever saw him… Well? Why'd he do that? What'd you say to him?"

Kagura's rage was beginning to build. It wouldn't stay bottled up for much longer. "That's none of your business."

Fractures started to spread over the woodwork of Sting's desk. "None of my business, you say?"

His body became wreathed in light as white marks started etching themselves on his face. "Maybe THIS will change your mind!" He brought his hands together and unleashed Holy Ray on Kagura.

The entire wall of Sting's office exploded, and Kagura was thrown out onto the street. She quickly regained her balance, then dodged Sting's next few punches. She sliced back at him numerous times, which he dodged and replied with a White Dragon's Roar. The street was completely torn asunder by their epic clash, but Sting's Dragon Force combined with his tremendous power gave him the upper hand.

Sting managed to land a White Dragon's Claw on Kagura's thigh, and the magic stigma circle burned itself into her skin. Kagura found herself unable to move. Sting began laying into her with his fists while she lay helpless on the ground, grunting one word with each punch. "I'll-never-see-Rogue-again-and-it's-all-because-of-YOU!"

On his last word, his fist exploded in light, leaving Kagura lying at the bottom of ten-foot crater in the ground. Sting stood over her, panting, surveying his handiwork.

Kagura's eye twitched. Her rage popped.

Sting's knees suddenly buckled to the ground. He was being dragged down by an incredible, overbearing force. The gravity around him had increased tenfold. Sting fought to keep his head up, but soon it slammed face-first into the ground, knocking him unconscious. The force of gravity was so strong that it caused his body to bore several inches into the street. Kagura stood over him, the stigma circle forgotten, irrelevant.

"So, Rogue leaves me, breaks my heart… For some reason I'm _still_ trying to find him… and you tell me it's my fault?"

Kagura felt more familiar right now than she had in a long time. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to feel this much pain and anger inside of her. She unsheathed Archenemy.

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><p>Rogue lay awake inside a shadow in a tavern in the neighboring country of Bosco. He'd come a long way from Sabertooth in just five days, but he wasn't far enough. People around here still knew who Sting Eucliffe was. Rogue had promised himself that he'd keep traveling north until he encountered a citizen who'd never heard of Sting Eucliffe. So far, no luck.<p>

He felt terrible about how he'd just left. He imagined Frosch must be worried sick about him right now. But for now, all Rogue knew was that he needed to be alone. Or at least, he used to know that. Now Rogue wondered if that was really true anymore.

Suddenly a chill tingled through Rogue's shoulders. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He _felt_ something was about to happen. _Someone dear to me is about to die._ Rogue had no explanation for how he knew this was so. It was simply a fact. Someone needed Rogue. Someone needed him _now_.

Without thinking, Rogue melted completely into shadow and began traveling as fast as he could, back down south, back towards Fiore, back towards Sabertooth, back home. He could actually travel incredibly fast when in pure shadow form, although it consumed vast amounts of his magic power.

Rogue burst out of the ground, grabbing someone's hand, preventing the stab of a lethal weapon. The assailant stumbled backward in surprise, while Rogue struggled to remain on his feet, panting from the exertion. He nevertheless forced himself to assume a battle stance, for he knew he would have to fight the attacker. He was still thrown off balance when he heard a familiar voice.

"_Rogue_?"

Rogue snapped out of his trance and took in his surroundings. He was on the street outside the Sabertooth guild hall. The street was absolutely desecrated. Below his feet lay Sting, beaten, bruised, and unconscious. And in front of him, clearly the one responsible for Sting's condition, her Archenemy sword unsheathed, was Kagura.

Rogue let go of her hand. "Kagura? Why… How… What the hell happened here?"

Kagura stepped forward and slapped Rogue hard across the face. "You idiot! Look at Sting's face! Look what you did to your partner!" She was crying. Why? Why was she even attacking Sting in the first place?

"You pull your little disappearing act on me when I tell you my feelings. You don't tell anyone where the fuck you went, not even Frosch. You reduced your partner to _this_. And you ask _me_ what the hell happened?"

Rogue stumbled backwards. "Wait… feelings? Like, for Sting?"

Kagura snorted. "Yeah, real funny. No. It was for _you_, remember? But of course, you _knew_ what I was going to say, so you wouldn't even let me say it! You stifled my one chance to heal my heart and let me choke on it!"

Kagura's aura of rage was getting stronger. Rogue had a feeling she would hit him across the face again, and not with her hand this time. In contrast, Rogue's mouth was wide open.

"You… feelings… for _me_? And not Sting?"

Kagura's anger subsided a little. "Wait… you weren't joking? You actually thought…" Rogue nodded in shock. "Why? Why Sting?"

Rogue looked down. His hands were shaking. "It's just… ever since Sting became Master, I've felt absolutely inferior to him in every way. People barely even remember me anymore. I'm worthless. I figured, if everyone else, thought that way, why shouldn't you?"

Kagura's anger completely dissipated. Now it made sense. What Rogue had said… it had nothing to do with him not being interested in her. She pointed to Sting's unconscious body. "Do you feel inferior to him now?"

Rogue fell to his knees. "Yes. So much so," he whispered bitterly.

Kagura thought about Rogue's words. What did they reveal of his character?

Then she did something neither of them expected. She knelt down and embraced Rogue. "Rogue, I'm so sorry. I forgive you." _Wait, I do? What am I doing?_

"Wait, you do? How can you do that so easily?"

Kagura buried her face in Rogue's chest. She pulled it out after a few seconds and put a hand on each of his shoulders, her face just a few inches from his.

"Look, Rogue, I understand what you're going through. We both have issues we need to work out, issues that make us act strangely, not like the people we really are. So that's why you need to talk to people, to figure out exactly what _who we are_ means."

"That's… the most poetic thing I've ever heard you say, Kagura," Rogue breathed.

"Yeah, well… I'll help talk you through it if you help me. And there's someone else you should talk to as well." She glanced at Sting. "You can't ever hope to solve this inferiority issue without talking to him. Trust me, Rogue, I've been inside his office. He still cares as deeply for you as he ever has. There's no way he'd want you to suffer on his account."

Rogue was speechless. "I… I can't…"

Kagura put a finger to his lips. "Yes, you can. You'll practice with me first, though. Tomorrow, seven p.m. Don't be late, or I really will kill you this time. Now take Sting back home and get some rest. Frosch is worried sick about you."

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked off the street, out of town, and all the way back to Mermaid Heel.

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><p><strong>Hopefully that was to your liking! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to R&amp;R! Have a ding-dang-wang-bang-golly-gosh-darn-tootin-falutin-fizz-gee-wizz-day!<strong>


	7. Real Talk

**AN: Hey everybody! So sorry for the late update, it's been finals week and life is hell. But now I'm done! Yay! Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

Chapter 7: Real Talk

Rogue grunted as he heaved himself up over the edge, into Kagura's secret seaside cove. She greeted him and helped him to his feet.

"Hey, Rogue. Glad you're actually on time for once."

"Very funny."

They both sat down, settled themselves in… the awkwardness of the moment was quite palpable. Both of the two fidgeted nervously on their seats, crossing and uncrossing their legs, never feeling comfortable in any one position. Rogue couldn't stop thinking about how much of an idiot he was… why did he have to be so insecure, so jumpy? If he'd just sat there for two fucking seconds… he'd be feeling very differently right now. Sting wouldn't be in the infirmary. Kagura seemed on edge about _something_, he just wasn't quite sure what.

Rogue coughed. "So… uh… what exactly were we planning to do again?"

Kagura licked her lips anxiously. "Well, uh… I guess I was sort of hoping to talk about… your 'insecurites.'" _I sure was a whole lot more confident about this yesterday…_

Rogue took a deep breath and tried to let the thoughts leak out of his head. He told her about how nobody noticed him anymore, how Sting was always busy, and how he'd been wondering what exactly his purpose was, if it wasn't as part of the strongest tag duo in Fiore any more. "And then there's this Shadow. It frightens me. I don't know when or where it will show up next, and I'm feeling so emotionally weak right now, it could take me over any time… I just feel so vulnerable and helpless… and I know Frosch can sense it too, but he needs me to be strong. I can't have myself being unable to protect him."

"Mmm-hmm," Kagura said distractedly.

"W-wait! You made me come here and you're not even listening to me!?" Rogue sweatdropped. "Wait… you seem distracted, Kagura."

"What? No, I…"

Rogue leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. "That dream you had on the train. You've been having it again, haven't you?"

Kagura opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again. There was no use denying it. Right now, Rogue's eyes were boring into her own too intensely. They would cut right through to reveal her lie.

"Yes, I am."

Rogue's gaze softened. "Tell me about it."

Kagura told him- she told him of her home in flames, of Jellal trying to kill her, of the mysterious man who shielded her with his body. She left out the part where she felt the same sensation in the exact same spot where Minerva stabbed her.

"Are you hungry?"

Kagura was taken aback. "Um… A little, I suppose. Why?"

"You had your hand on your stomach."

Kagura looked down. Her hand was right over her old wound. _Dammit!_

Rogue narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What's down there?"

"H-hey, this is supposed to be _your_ therapy session!" Kagura protested, but Rogue would not be stopped in his moment of caring. He scooped Kagura up in his arms, ripping off her skirted blazer to see what was on her stomach. Rest assured, he did this _solely_ because he was concerned for her well being and had no other intentions whatsoever. Well, mostly whatsoever.

About four inches in diameter, right on Kagura's left abdomen, was a nasty, dark purple wound that had clearly been heavily and extensively treated with magic to the point of maximum possible recovery. Archenemy's power was so strong that the best even the strongest healing magic the kingdom of Fiore could do was to turn it into a glorified scar.

Rogue suddenly realized what he was doing and turned beet red, just the same color as Kagura's face. In his arms, Kagura was now wearing only a collared shirt and tie, cropped about halfway down her torso. Her black tights flatteringly traced her slim figure and legs all the way down to her boots. "Uhh..." Rogue mumbled, his face now steaming from embarrassment.

"Ro-Rogue, put me down!" Kagura said in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice. "What are you-"

She stopped because Rogue had gingerly touched her wound.

Rogue felt the crunch of a fist against his nose, and he fell backwards and dropped Kagura. He felt himself falling out over the edge, but this time he was more alert than his previous experience. He turned into a shadow and zipped back into the cove. Kagura was unconscious. Rogue started to panic.

"What have I DONE?"

* * *

><p>"Kagura! Kagura, wake up!"<p>

Kagura's eyes fluttered open. "Where…"

Well, this was familiar. She was waking up to a nighttime camp-out after passing out, with Rogue's familiar red eyes looming over her. The only unfamiliar part…

Kagura sat up straight. "My blazer! Where's my blazer!"

Rogue held it up cautiously. "Right here. Sorry for, um… taking it. Earlier. You know."

Oh, that was right. Rogue had done… that. Kagura had never felt anything like that before. By all rights, she should have been angry, but because it was Rogue, it was somehow… okay. Different. Expected, even. Oh, boy. She couldn't stop thinking about how _safe_ she felt in his arms… _He's staring at you, Kagura. Say something!_

"It's alright. It's more comfortable this way."

Rogue's jaw dropped, but he didn't complain about being let off the hook. He sat down behind her and put his legs to either side of hers, allowing her to lean on his chest. "I'm also sorry about… the wound. I didn't know that would happen."

"No, I should've warned you. I experience ghosts of the sensation every time I'm touched there. I've got to be careful."

"That's… awful. Being backstabbed by your own blade… I can't believe a member of my one guild would do something like that."

Kagura rubbed her hands back and forth against her thighs. "It's alright. Minerva's fault, not yours." She looked back and upwards, towards his face. "You know, we never finished talking out your problems."

Rogue shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary. Why should we cling to what held us down in the past, when we can create new memories in the present? Acknowledging our troubles only gives them more power."

"Come on, Rogue. The past isn't all bad."

Rogue started running his fingers absentmindedly through Kagura's hair. "You know what we should do? We should take turns sharing stories of things that happened in the past that make us happy."

"I… I'd like that very much."

"You go first."

"Well… okay." Kagura thought for a moment and took a deep breath. "When I was a kid," she began, "and Simon was still… was still…"

Her eyes began to well up with tears. Her voice choked. She toubled over in pain and began to sob. _What's wrong with me? I haven't cried about Simon in forever._

She felt Rogue's strong hands running back and forth across her back, skillfully finding and smoothing out the tight points. Eventually they settled on her shoulders and began methodically rubbing out the stress. Even though Kagura couldn't see his face, she somehow knew he was smiling.

She stopped crying. Slowly, her breath returned to her. "…Sorry."

"Oh, don't apologize, Kagura," chuckled Rogue. "That's not the Kagura I know."

"Why, you-" she showed her displeasure at the subtle jab with a slightly less subtle jab- an elbow to the groin. While Rogue was doubling over and moaning in pain, Kagura regained her composure. "Come on, Rogue, snap out of it," she said eventually. "Maybe you should go first."

Rogue straightened up at Kagura's command. "Alright, fine. I'll go." He took a deep breath. "Don't you dare tell Sting I told you this, but… When Sting and I were kids, he told me about something his foster dragon, Weisslogia, did. Every time Sting got hurt in training- either physically or emotionally- Weisslogia would give him a kiss where it hurt." Rogue couldn't contain himself any more, and burst out laughing.

Kagura turned around to stare at Rogue in disbelief. "He _what_?"

"A kiss!" Rogue panted, hysterical. "The dragon would _kiss_ him to make him feel better! Didn't matter what kind of wound it was, any kind of-" Rogue stopped. His eyes widened. He glanced down at Kagura's waist.

"Wait, what's-" Kagura's breath caught in her throat mid-sentence. She could feel an eerie chill forming on her stomach. "You don't think-"

When their eyes met, both stopped thinking rationally. The only thoughts that resonated through their heads were echoes of what had just been said.

_Whatever wound… physical or mental… he'd kiss it, and it would feel better… _Kagura thought.

_Dragon's are wise,_ Rogue thought.

They each closed their eyes and let gravity take them where it would, which was conveniently leaning slightly toward the other.

And that's when the watchers unleashed their devastating surprise.

**Again, I apologize for the super-lateness, hope the chapter makes up for it! As always, don't forget to rate and review, and I hope you all have a day full of wonders.**


	8. Surprise!

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. And, also I am sorry for how that last chapter ended. People seemed pretty upset, and I'm honestly not sure whether they were being sarcastic or not. But anyway, I hope this chapter makes it up to you guys! Thanks for reading, and enjoy!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Surprise!<p>

Rogue's head was peppered with pain from a shower of falling chestnuts. His mind completely ripped away from what he and Kagura had been just about to do, he turned in annoyance, only to get another face full of spiny chestnuts. A cacophony of high-pitched laughter came from the shadows of the ceiling. Rogue glanced back at Kagura. She was giggling. _Giggling. At his expense._

Whoever was responsible for this was going to pay. Dearly.

Wait a minute… Rogue definitely recognized those laughs.

"Lector? Frosch? What the hell are you guys doing here?"

The two Exceeds floated on their wings from out of the shadows of the roof, both giggling themselves silly.

Rogue groaned. "Come on, guys, isn't it past your bedtime? Plus, this isn't like you two. Isn't this something the Salamander's cat would do? Please tell me Sabertooth Exceeds are more dignified."

Kagura started giggling even harder. Rogue was going red in the face.

"Oh, it wasn't their idea, old buddy. That honor goes to me."

Rogue's jaw dropped when he saw who had dropped from the ceiling.

"St-St-Sting? How long have you- How much did you- I mean- What the hell are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be in the _infirmary_?"

Sting _was_ covered in bandages all around his chest and face. Despite this, he still seemed to be able to stand and move around on his own. The look on his face was one of satisfaction, as if he'd just won a bet.

Kagura stopped. She didn't look too thrilled to have another _person_ in the cave with them.

"Eh, it was _boring_. When Frosch said you were going for a very _special_ occasion, I just thought I'd stop by and add a little color to the moment, Lover Boy." He snickered.

"Sting said it was a good idea, so that's why we did it! Wasn't it funny, Rogue? You should have seen the look on your face!" Lector was doubling over in a hysterical fit of midair laughter.

Sting knelt down next to Kagura. "Hey girl," he said. The look on his face was serious, but Rogue knew him well enough to tell that Sting was trying very hard not to laugh. "If you're gonna date Rogue, there's something you should know." Sting paused gravely. "His sense of humor can be a little _dark_!" Sting collapsed onto the floor, rolling around and banging his fists relentlessly upon the ground. "Get it?" he panted. "Dark?"

Frosch and Lector joined in Sting's revelry, and soon Sting's laughter resonated through the walls of the cave in triplicate.

Rogue and Kagura stole a glance at each other, then both quickly looked away. Each wanted nothing more than some alone time with the other, but Sting had done a pretty good job of taking the magic right out of the moment, and now the two were awkwardly sitting three feet apart, staring at the floor.

A muscled hand pulled an even more muscled man over the ledge. His green hair was messily tied back behind a headband, and he carried a large karaoke machine over one broad shoulder. "Oi! Sting! Nice place for a party, man. Where do you want me to put this?"

Sting groaned.

"I'm still trying to block out the last memory of that awful device," said Rufus, who had just materialized on the ledge. He was soon followed by a multitude of wizards- it seemed the entire Sabertooth guild. One by one they climbed over the edge, setting up numerous tables, chairs, disco lacrima, speaker lacrima, and most importantly, alcohol. Barrels and barrels and barrels of it.

Rogue instantly found himself trapped in a throbbing revel- he was surrounded by a forest of dancing legs. His ears throbbed with the pounding of party music blasting from the speakers, and from Orga's hideous singing. And the _smell_- Rogue had never before been in the presence of so much alcohol at once.

"This is supposed to be _Kagura's_ secret place. What the hell does Sting think he's doing?" Rogue muttered to himself and set off to find the man responsible.

It didn't take long to find Sting. He was sitting by himself at a table at the edge of the party, nursing a beer and wistfully staring at something out of Rogue's field of vision. Rogue was just about to go give Sting a piece of his mind when he felt a tug on his ankle.

Rogue looked down to find Frosch timidly looking up at him.

"Fro is sorry, Rogue. Fro knows you and Kagura were having a nice time, but Fro just thought… Fro thought you might not want to be Fro's friend anymore," the little Exceed sniffled.

Rogue knelt down and put a hand on Frosch's shoulder. "That's ridiculous, Frosch. Please, believe me when I say nothing is more important to me than our friendship, and whatever happens, nothing's going to change it. I forgive you."

Frosch looked up at Rogue again and smiled. "Sting's idea really _was_ good! Everyone's having a great time!"

Rogue gazed around at the partying members of Sabertooth. Once they barely knew each other. Sabertooth had once been the most cutthroat and ruthless of all the guilds. Now look at them. Rogue barely recognized these people as the same guild he once belonged to.

"Rogue thinks so too."

It was, Rogue realized, all Sting's doing. Sting had turned the guild from one that preyed on its own members if they showed any weakness to one where everyone's strength came from their unity. Would Rogue have been able to do that? Hell, would _anyone_ have been able to do that like Sting had?

Rogue looked back to Sting, but not with the same intent as he had originally. He finally saw what Sting was staring at. Rogue smiled. But of course. After sending Frosch to go hang out with Lector, Rogue picked his way through the partygoers to Sting's table and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Jut go after her, man," he whispered in Sting's ear. "Just do it. You won't get anywhere if you don't. You'll do great."

Sting jumped, as if he had just noticed Rogue was there. "Rogue! When did you- How did you know?"

But Rogue had already melted back into the shadows. He was going to take his own advice.

* * *

><p>He found Kagura at a table with many of the female members of Sabertooth, who were all collapsed under the table and giggling uncontrollably. Kagura was politely attempting to refuse a drink, which was being thrust at her by a flush-faced brunette. She didn't look like a member of Sabertooth, Rogue thought, but she was oddly familiar.<p>

His jaw dropped. "Wait. _Cana_? Of _Fairy Tail_? What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're surprised," Cana hiccupped. "I could smell the alcohol all the way from Magnolia. Now, come on, girlie. Drink up!" She thrust the entire bottle of beer right under Kagura's nose.

"No thanks," Kagura again refused politely. "I got very… er… compromised the last time I drank."

"Nonsense! Beer is good for you! Don't be a wuss!"

Rogue attempted to tame the drunken beast that was Cana. "Um, if you'll excuse me, miss, I'd like a word with Kagura in private, please." It took a lot of coaxing and an extra barrel of alcohol, but Rogue was able to rescue Kagura from the brunette.

Rogue led Kagura back down the cliff to the beach below the Mermaid Hell guildhall. Rogue took Kagura's hand and led her as far down the beach as he could, but even at the end they could still faintly hear Orga's dreadful singing.

Kagura made the mistake of actually listening to the lyrics:

"Sabertooth! Is the best!

Better than! All the rest!

Got big muscles on my chest!

Party hard! We get no rest!"

Kagura let go of Rogue's hand and fell to her knees. "Ugh… I feel woozy."

Rogue deliberately sat down about a half foot away from her, so they were not touching, but he could feel her hair fluttering in the breeze.

"So… uh… nice night, huh?"

Kagura nodded, but did not reply.

They both fidgeted in silence. Rogue was pushing grains of sand back and forth with his boots. Kagura drew circles in the sand with her fingers. Time was moving agonizingly slowly.

_Come on, Rogue. Follow your own advice. Do it do it do it do it do it do it._

"I love you."

Rogue and Kagura both looked around in a panic. How could there be an echo out here? Where did that other voice come from? Slowly they met each other's eyes and realized what they both had spoken.

"I mean… I thought you already knew," Kagura said without meeting his eyes.

"I did. I thought you did, too," Rogue murmured.

"If you did know, why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you tell me you did too?"

"I guess," said Rogue, "I guess I thought that… that you thought I liked you, and I thought that you weren't interested. But now I guess you thought that I knew and I wasn't interested. I think."

"You seem very uncertain about all of this," Kagura mused.

"Yes. I am uncertain." Rogue put a hand on her shoulder. "That's why I have to stick to what I _know_, not what I think. And I _know_ I love you, Kagura."

Kagura's words caught in her throat. She didn't know what to do, to say, to feel. It was all far too good to be true.

Rogue put his head on her shoulder and his arms grasped her back tightly. "Please," he mumbled into her shoulder. "Please know… I will never run away from you again. Whatever happens, I will always stay by your side and support you through whatever hardships may befall you. Please. If you only remember one thing, let it be that. I beg of you."

Kagura pushed him off her shoulder and held him at arm's length. Rogue's eyes were wide, as if they were trying to really take in her face for the first time. "You have to stay strong for me, too, you idiot."

They stayed like that for minutes, Kagura holding Rogue up like some newborn baby, and Rogue just sitting there, oblivious to what was about to happen.

"So, uh… what exactly do we _do_ now?" were Rogue's next words.

Kagura stared at him, dumbfounded. Did he not know… had he never… Although Kagura hadn't either, she at least knew… Or thought she did…

She remembered Rogue's story about Sting's parent dragon.

"I think I'm going to take a page out of Weisslogia's book."

In the space of a single second, Kagura pulled Rogue as close to her face as she could and smashed his mouth against hers. She pulled him deeper and deeper into the kiss, hungry for every part of Rogue she could get. She wanted to teach Rogue- and herself- how this was done properly.

Rogue did not return the kiss the entire time. The poor man was completely stupefied.

Their kiss lasted for a couple minutes, before Kagura finally had to push Rogue back a little to get some air. Only just, though. Their noses were still touching.

Kagura's mind was buzzing. She _really_ liked that feeling, that sensation. She was completely oblivious to poor Rogue's twitching eyes, his lolling mouth, his short-circuited brain.

Soon she roughly pulled Rogue back in for another one. And another. And another.

Poor Rogue eventually warmed up to it, but there was no way he could keep up with Kagura.

That night, Rogue and Kagura catalyzed each other in an incredibly volatile way, and nobody could possibly guess how it ended up.

When they finally fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, not even the nightmares about Orga's karaoke could keep the smiles off their sleeping faces.

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><p><strong>GAAAAAH! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed. Hope it was worth all this waiting for it! ;)<strong>

**ALSO. As of a couple days ago, I have a youtube channel! I'm not really planning on doing much with it, but I do make AMV's. If you like that kind of thing, you can check it out at: (type in youtube dot com, slash, then copy+paste into browser)**

** channel/UCXxBKh67GtU0pKKZK0Ulrtw**

**I'M REALLY SORRY I TRIED TO TYPE AN HTML LINK BUT IT WOULDN'T LET ME. I REALLY TRIED. :(**

**Now, the only ones I've gotten to post-able quality so far are for Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, but OF COURSE I've made several Fairy Tail AMV's as well. The only problem is, I get all my footage from Youtube, and it's really hard to find stuff that's not watermarked or bad quality. REST ASSURED though, I am working on it! Let me know if you have anything you'd really like me to make, because I'm kind of stuffed with potential ideas right now and have a hard time deciding.**

**Anyways, thanks as always for reading. Don't forget to rate and review! Have a decently relatively comparatively superlative day.**


	9. A Date Gone Wrong, Plus a Little Spat

**AN: Hey guys! What's ****happening? Anything? No? Cool! Hope you guys like this chapter! Enjoy!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 9: A Date Gone Wrong, Plus a Little Spat<p>

"We're not really dating if we don't go on dates, right?"

God. Why the hell had he said that? How could Rogue have been so _stupid_?

Rogue ambled awkwardly down the street in his uncomfortable suit, which had taken much pestering, poking, prodding and wrestling for Sting and Lector to convince him to wear. How the hell could people do _anything_ in these infernal suits? Rogue could barely breathe, what with the stupid polka-dotted necktie.

Not only that, but he was about to enter a fancy restaurant for the first time in his life. On his first date. With his first girlfriend.

Nope. Not nervous at all.

_Why did I even suggest that in the first place_? Thought Rogue to himself. _It's not like things have been going _badly_ the last couple of weeks._

In all honestly, Rogue had suggested they go on a formal date to get some air. Since the night of Sting's surprise visit, Kagura, Rogue and Frosch had practically become an official team. They went on every job together, and Rogue couldn't have been happier about that.

The only problem: Kagura really liked kissing Rogue. Like, she _really, really, really_ liked it. No, more than you're imagining right now.

Kagura didn't care where they were. She didn't care what they were doing, or who was watching. She didn't care what reason/excuse she had to use to kiss Rogue. Oftentimes there was none. She would pull him in for a kiss in the middle of a crowded train station when he successfully found their destination on the map. She was always delaying their missions by dragging Rogue off into some closet to make out (She brought Frosch along, too, of course- they didn't want him getting lost, and besides, Frosch had no idea what was going on and wouldn't tell anybody). Kagura even made out with Rogue on long train rides, when he was in constant danger of throwing up (It actually helped to soothe his motion sickness a little, but Rogue wasn't about to tell Kagura that).

And before you get the wrong idea- it wasn't that Rogue didn't _like_ it; on the contrary, Kagura made him happier than anything else ever had. The past two weeks had been undoubtedly the best of his life. It was just- well- Rogue had absolutely no power when they were kissing. He was terrible at it; Kagura walked all over him (she had become an expert rather quickly). Not only that, but Rogue had been picking up major hints that she wanted to progress farther with him- and Rogue wasn't sure if he was quite ready for that yet.

At any rate, Rogue asked Kagura on this date because he wanted to just _talk _to her like they used to for a change. And, well, he literally needed some air.

Well, he was here. No use putting it off any longer. Rogue had reached the restaurant. A sign almost as large as the restaurant's name (The Tastebud Lacrima) read "No Indecent Displays of Affection." Oh, great. This was not going to be easy.

Kagura wasn't there yet, so Rogue got seated at a back table and casually flipped through the menu. He had no idea what anything on the menu was, so he just picked something random he would order and waited, sipping an elaborate martini. It tasted horrible.

Ten minutes passed, and finally someone came through the door. Rogue looked up expectantly, then his face deflated. The four wizards who entered were very familiar, but none of them were Kagura.

"All right! I'm all fired up now! Where the bar fights at?"

"Natsu! Come on, don't destroy the place!"

"Hey! Let go of me, Lucy!"

"Ooooh! She loooooves you."

"SHUT UP, CAT!"

"Jeez, Natsu, could you get any more idiotic?"

"Oh, yeah, Gray? As a matter of fact, I could, if I copied you!"

"What was that, Flamebrain?"

"I don't know, what do you think it was, Frostballs?"

"ENOUGH!"

Rogue watched the poor greeting waitress awkwardly escort Erza and the four other terrified Fairy Tail members to a large booth a few spots away from Rogue's table.

Rogue put his head down so he wouldn't be noticed. The last thing Rogue wanted was for the word about him and Kagura to get out, much less to the Salamander. Actually, if Titania were to find out, that might conceivably be even worse.

He nursed his revolting drink and listened to the antics of the Fairy Tail members. Despite himself, Rogue found himself smiling. These people may have been irrational, overly boisterous, and just a little insane, but- Okay. Completely insane. But they had the biggest heart, the most powerful camaraderie Rogue had ever seen. That camaraderie had been what made Fairy Tail stronger than Sabertooth in the Grand Magic Games, what Sting had based his whole vision of a new Sabertooth on. Even though Sabertooth was very different now, Rogue had to admit it couldn't even come close to matching Fairy Tail's heart.

"Wow! I still can't decide what kind of fish to get! They have so many…"

"All right! My ultra-spicy deep-fried Bulcan legs came! Fire in my belly, here I come!"

"Natsu, you're getting food all over the table!"

"Goddammit Natsu, can't I enjoy my frozen Bulcan barbecue in peace?"

"Shut up, Gray! What kind of doofus eats something like that anyway?"

"What was that, you pyro?"

"Will you idiots SHUT UP?"

"*Yes, ma'am.*"

Rogue still had his head down and couldn't see them, but he could practically smell the bewildered stares the oblivious Fairy Tail wizards were receiving.

"Is that you, Erza? Wow, I haven't seen you in ages!"

Wait. That last voice was different. And familiar.

Rogue glanced up. Erza appeared to be hugging someone, but Rogue couldn't see whom. Erza separated to reveal Kagura standing behind her, a huge smile on her face. Rogue didn't catch much of their ample chatter. He was too busy gawking, wide-eyed, at his girlfriend.

Kagura wore a tight, dark purple dress that hugged her skin and accentuated her curves. It went down to about her knees. Her hair was done up in the back, tied into a simple ponytail, and her bangs still hung down in the front. She looked nothing short of amazing.

Rogue's mouth was wide open, and his eyes and jaw were twitching uncontrollably, but he managed to pull himself back into realty to listen to what they were saying.

"…You look great! So what're you wearing that for?" Erza exclaimed. The two had their palms clasped, their fingers intertwined.

Kagura blushed. "Oh, I'm here for Rogue's and my first date. You haven't seen him around, have you?"

Rogue spit his drink out. Lucy jumped up and started congratulating Kagura. Gray swallowed his frozen barbecue wrong and started choking. Natsu and Happy jumped up and started dancing on the table, singing teasing songs that involved the spelling of the word "kissing." Erza turned white as a ghost and stared for about a minute. Then she went into hyper-enthusiastic overdrive, her dramatic and excited gestures upending tables and sending food flying everywhere. It was nothing short of an absolute disaster.

Needless to say, the Fairy Tail wizards, along with Kagura, were promptly kicked out of the restaurant.

Rogue sighed exasperatedly. Not only had those insane wizards completely destroyed this nice restaurant, but they'd also completely ruined his nice dinner date with Kagura. Rogue quickly paid his jewels for the disgusting martini and slipped out of the restaurant in the form of a shadow, much to the surprise of the waiter.

Rogue knew exactly where Kagura would be. She didn't live too far from the Tastebud Lacrima, so Rogue headed straight to her apartment, slipping through the wall in the form of a shadow. He emerged in Kagura's empty living room. "Hey, Kagura, you home? It's me, Rogue!"

"Oh, hey, Rogue!" her voice called back from the kitchen. "Sorry, I got kicked out of the restaurant. You'll never believe who I found there, though. How long did you wait for me after you got there?"

Rogue headed towards the kitchen. "Yeah, I know. It was Natsu's team from Fairy Tail."

"Wait, what? How did you know?"

"I was already-"

Rogue stopped, his face a steaming shade of crimson. Kagura was standing at the sink washing dishes. More importantly, she wore nothing but a white lace bra and panty.

"Hey, handsome." Kagura winked right at him.

"Uh…uh-uh…uh-huh-uh…" Rogue's jaw was going out of control again. How did Kagura do this to him?

Kagura's hair was wet. Rogue figured she must've just gotten out of the shower. Not that that had anything to do with anything. His jaw started twitching even faster.

"You were already what?" Kagura said, looking at Rogue inquisitively. She didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she was standing in front of Rogue in her underwear.

_I think Erza's starting to rub off on her…_

Rogue calmed his jaw enough to manage a reply. He explained how he'd already been at back of the restaurant and had watched the whole scene unfold.

"Wait… So how come you didn't tell me you were there? How come you didn't say hi to any of the Fairy Tail wizards, not even Natsu?" Kagura looked and sounded upset, and that snapped Rogue out of his trance.

Yes, she was definitely upset. Now that Rogue thought about it, his decisions had definitely seemed a little fishy from Kagura's perspective. He had better explain it to her, and fast.

"I… uh… sort of didn't want them to see us together."

Kagura's eyes were tearing up. "Wait… what are you saying, Rogue? Are you saying you're… _ashamed_ of me?"

Oh, boy. _That_ was the wrong thing to say.

Rogue held out his hands in a peacemaking gesture. "No, no, nothing like that! It's just… I knew the Fairy Tail wizards are a rowdy bunch, and I didn't want them to mess up our date. You know, our first date… It was kind of important."

Kagura blinked. "But I'm here now… _you're_ here… why does it matter?"

Rogue looked down. Looked like he was going to have to say it.

"Look, Kagura…" Rogue ventured. "It's just… you've been kissing me a lot. And it's great. But there's a limit, you know? There's a point where you can have too much of a good thing. And I… I just feel like I have too little control over any of it- how long it goes, when we do it… I just feel like you're dragging me down this road I'm not sure I want to follow. And I'm sensing hints from you… you wanting to go further with me… but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I really looked forward to our dinner because I just wanted to _talk_ to you, Kagura. I feel like we haven't done that in weeks."

Kagura was silent. The tears in her eyes began to spill.

"I'm so sorry, Kagura. I didn't mean to unload all that on you, I-"

Rogue's breath caught in his throat as he felt Kagura's arms wrap themselves around him, felt her face pressing deep into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Rogue," Kagura mumbled. "I… I enjoyed it so much that I never considered the possibility that you might not be as into it as I was."

Rogue was dumbstruck. His chest was wet with Kagura's tears, and his cheeks were wet with his own.

"I promise," Kagura continued, "I'll be more considerate of your feelings from now on. If you don't feel like doing something, please just tell me. I would hate to feel uncomfortable. Please, just don't ever let me be making things difficult for you without even knowing it. I'm the worst girlfriend ever…" she sobbed.

Rogue felt a newfound surge of courage overcome his fear and awkwardness. He brought Kagura's face up to meet his own. For the first time ever, he initiated a deep kiss himself, and led Kagura all the way through it, just the way she had done so many times for him. "Please don't cry," he whispered against her lips. "You're so much more beautiful when you're not. And honestly, a lot of the time I'm too shy, so I like it when you lead me. I'm just so happy that you listened and responded to what I had to say. Not many people could do that as well as you did. You're not the worst girlfriend at all… you're the best."

Kagura smiled and hugged him close again.

"And for the record," Rogue continued, "I promise I don't give a crap who knows about us, all right?" He gently extricated himself from her arms. "I'll go get Frosch, all right? What do you say we just hang out here together for the night?"

Kagura smiled and wiped away the last of her tears. She gave Rogue one slow nod packed with much more meaning than could be imagined at first glance.

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><p><strong>Well... That happened. I mean, I think it did. Hey, so, thanks for reading! Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, all that good stuff. Also, wish me luck on my SAT's tomorrow! Have a day better than my tomorrow will be :P<strong>


	10. Just Kidding! (Kind of)

**AN: Hey guys! Time for another chapter! Hope you enjoy this one. Not much else to say here, but look at the bottom for some cool stuff!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 10: Just Kidding! (Kind of)<p>

Rogue's eyes slowly widened as they began to take in the first rays of sunlight for the day. He smiled, but yawned in the middle of it. Honestly, as much as Rogue loved his shadows… it was still hard not to appreciate a good sunrise.

Rogue tried to get up to go enjoy the view, but as he tried to rise he noticed a dangling weight looped right around his neck. Suddenly Rogue felt a certain warmth spread throughout his body, and a pleasurable numbness un-focusing the new day's energy from his brain. Suddenly the sunrise was the last thing Rogue wanted to appreciate.

Kagura shifted and murmured in her sleep, but her left arm remained hooked around Rogue's shoulders, and she stayed snuggled against Rogue's chest. Rogue chuckled to himself as he watched her sleep- this was the only time of day when she wasn't scary, and for that reason Rogue wasn't the least bit embarrassed despite their proximity.

_If only I'd be as comfortable as this when she's awake…_

Kagura started, jerking violently, and thrust her arms out, creating a bit of a vacuum between her and Rogue. She was still asleep, and clearly her dreams had taken a turn for the worse. Rogue still hadn't gotten up the courage to ask Kagura what her nightmares were about, but he knew she had them, and he had a sneaking suspicion they were somehow getting worse.

Kagura's mumblings became more and more coherent, until Rogue actually recognized one of the words she mumbled.

"Simon…"

Rogue grimaced and pulled her close again.

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><p>Kagura walked to and fro across her kitchen, preparing her morning coffee and Frosch's breakfast. She was in high spirits. Nothing was quite better than waking up pressed against Rogue's chest.<p>

Plus, since she'd started sleeping with Rogue, the nightmares hadn't been quite so bad.

Rogue yawned and ambled sluggishly into the kitchen. He looked adorably un-Rogue in his pajamas decorated with little cartoons of Natsu and Gajeel. "What's for breakfast?"

Kagura was careful not to impose herself on Rogue, however irresistible he was in those adorable pajamas. "I'm making pancakes!" She smiled. "High five!"

Rogue gave her a strange look before bewilderedly returning the high five.

Kagura blushed in embarrassment. _Okay, maybe that was a little too obviously not-romantic. Maybe I should- Oh, he looks so _cute_ when he makes that face! Wait. Stop it, Kagura. Play it cool. Make the damn pancakes. You have to make Rogue feel comfortable, he's an awkward guy._

Rogue awkwardly muttered a quick thanks for the pancakes and uncomfortably sat down at the table. He didn't really register any of Kagura's internal antics, for he was too busy thinking about her nightmares and how best to bring up the subject with her. He didn't want to risk making her upset. He remembered how the other day she'd cried when she just mentioned Simon's name. It was extremely thin ice Rogue was treading on.

"Fro wants to high five too!"

Kagura laughed and knelt down to give Frosch a high five. "How are you doing, Frosch? Did you sleep well?"

"Fro thinks so- But Fro… Fro feels there's something he should be remembering. But Fro can't recall…"

Kagura patted his head. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." She turned back to the stove and continued pouring out the pancake batter.

When the pancakes were finally ready, she put them all in a huge stack and placed the stack on the table. Rogue had not said a word the entire time. "Hey, Rogue…" Kagura ventured. "You hungry?" She smiled at him, but at first he did not look back at her. He was staring at the table, evidently lost in thought.

_Is he thinking about Shadow again…?_

Rogue suddenly realized he'd been asked a question and snapped out of his trance. "Oh! Uh… yes! Yes, I'm really hungry! Thanks so much for the pancakes, Kagura!" Rogue got up and kissed her on the cheek. He grinned a little bit to himself. He was getting a lot better at this, much more confident. He didn't even hesitate at all.

_That's good, because I can't have her getting suspicious…_

_ I'd better act normal, so he doesn't guess I've figured out he's thinking about Shadow again…_

The two ate in silence, too busy stuffing their faces with Kagura's delicious pancakes to talk. Frosch more than made up for their silence, exclaiming "Fro thinks this is delicious!" after each and every bite.

Finally, there were no more pancakes left, and Rogue and Kagura leaned back in their chairs, their stomachs full and their hearts' content.

"Fro remembers!"

Rogue and Kagura both sat up with a start, then relaxed once they realized Frosch's exclamation did not hint at any present danger. "Oh? What did you remember, Frosch?"

"Sting said he wanted to see you, Rogue. He said it was a matter of life or death." Frosch's face did not change expression, suggesting that he had no idea what he was really saying.

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><p>Rogue barged into Sting's office. He'd shadow-traveled here in a hurry, agitated by Sting's vague and urgent message. Sting swiveled his chair around and grinned when he saw Rogue.<p>

"Hey, man! Glad you could make it! How's… the _lady_?" he winked.

"What? Sting! You said there was something really important we needed to talk about!" Rogue panted.

Sting made a _psh_ motion with his right hand. "Ah, come on, man, you know I just did that so you'd get here faster. Listen, I get a day off tomorrow and I was thinking I was gonna take Yukino to the beach. You catch my drift?"

"Sting. You are the Master of Sabertooth. You can't just go telling people there's a crisis when you really just want to go to the beach! Do you have any idea how unprofessional-"

"Jeez, Rogue. Spare me the lecture. I'm trying to help you out here. Look, do you _want_ to spend the day with Kagura in a bikini, or not?"

Rogue's rant instantly evaporated and steamed out his bright red ears. Rogue tried to reply but all his retorts came as incoherent babbling.

Sting smirked triumphantly. He knew he'd won Rogue over.

"Go on, man. Go get your girl and we'll meet you at the beach. Cool?"

* * *

><p>Inside an abandoned warehouse long-since buried by the earth, five figures, their faces shrouded in darkness, sat and plotted around a large, circular table.<p>

"That's excellent news," growled a low, gruff voice. "I myself didn't expect Sting to take the bait."

"Oh, what did you expect, Fang?" purred the seductive voice of a young woman. "He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the box, you know. Our plan may be even easier to execute than we initially expected."

"About that," said the voice of another man. "I have a serious problem with sneaking up and ambushing the wizards. How can we expect Honor to forgive us when our actions fly in the very face of His will?"

"Oh, shut up, Zao, will you? The wonders of magical science have proven that there exists no god in this world. Furthermore, if there were such a being, he certainly would not be the representative of Honor, and more than he would be Greed or Hatred. To prove this, we need simply look at Bartimaeus' theorem, which clearly states that..."

Three loud groans.

"So, boss… What do you think?" snarled the gruff voice. "You like the plan?"

Silence.

Then a faint rumble shook the meetingplace. Little pieces of dirt and gravel began to levitate in the prescence of the man sitting at the end of the table. The hum of his incredible magic power ceased all at once, and in a deep, resounding bellow, the earth itself began to speak.

"I think I'm going to enjoy catching tigers."

**So. Sorry for the short-ish chapter, guys, and also for the random introduction of the cliche villain association. It appears this story has kind of gotten away from me. I meant this to be a sort of simple-ish little story, but apparently I am physically incapable of writing stories without at least five OC villains and a billion chapters. God, what is wrong with me? Must be that old Y chromosome.**

**Anyway, I'm toying with the idea of starting a drabble-ish series. Only, these aren't drabbles in that traditional relations hippy sense of the word, they're more about... backstories. Man, I love me a good backstory. And in Fairy Tail, a whole lot of the characters have really rich, detailed backstories that continue to define their character and decisions to the present day. But the thing is, there are a whole lot of really interesting characters that have little to no explanation as to how they got that way. Why does Azuma like fighting so much? Why is Fukuro so obsessed with justice? Why is Orga such a terrible singer? How did Yukino get her gold keys, Celestial powers, join Sabertooth and all that? *cough*Angel*cough*. What was Ivan like before he got kicked out of Fairy Tail, and for that matter, what did he ****_do_****? How the fuck is Gildarts so ridiculously strong? All of these are things I'd like to explore with this kind of thing. So, I'm thinking about writing a series of unrelated one-shots about the backstories of various FT characters. Now, I could of course also write some for characters who already ****_have_**** backstories, and I think I will probably also do that.**

**TL;DR version: I'm making a series of short backstory pieces about various Fairy Tail characters. If you'd be interested in that or have any characters in particular you'd really like to see, PLEASE let me know via PM or review. I'm very interested in you guys' opinions on the whole thing.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Have a sweet day! (Yes, I know that's kind of lame, but I'm tired, OK?)**

**Oh, one last thing. My youtube page url was posted a couple chapters back. I put up a Fairy Tail AMV. If you like Jellal and/or Linkin Park, you should definitely check it out.**

**Alright. I'm done. Peace!**


	11. An Unfortunate Argument

**Hey guys! I am SOSOSOSO sorry this took so fricking long to update! I've been super busy with school, fencing, making AMV's and stuff that it's been hard even motivating myself to write. But I'M BACK BABY! I hope you enjoy!**

**Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.**

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><p>Chapter 11: An Unfortunate Argument<p>

"Come on, Yukino! Last one in the water's a spoiled pumpkin!"

"I don't think that's how it goes, St- gaaah! Blublublub…"

Yukino's cry of protest was literally drowned out as Sting pulled her under the ocean water. All that could be seen by the casual observer was a roiling swarm of bubbles, until Yukino and Sting erupted from the waves in a geyser of foam and laughter. Despite the fact that Sting had just thrown her in the water and was playfully trying to force her back under, Yukino could not have been happier at the moment. She was at the beach, the sun was shining (but not right overhead), the water was warm, and there was enough of a breeze to prevent the atmosphere from getting muggy. But the best part: Sting had used his influence as a Guildmaster to ensure they had an entire stretch of beach all to themselves for the day. It was a perfect day, nobody but her and Sting… Oh, except for those two…

Under a lone beach umbrella anchored in the sand sat Rogue and Kagura. Kagura lay on the sand, looking up at the sky. She was dressed in a white two-piece bikini, but the ever-present Archenemy still lay by her side. She stared up at the blue, bored and jealous of the two in the water.

Rogue had expressly voiced his dissent when Kagura had wanted to go in the water, but that was the only thing he'd said the whole time. It appeared Rogue was putting on the "cool beach guy" act to try to impress her. He sat bolt upright next to her, except he was awkwardly leaning down to one side to put an arm around her shoulders. His eyes were fixed firmly on the horizon, or at least they appeared to be- Kagura couldn't tell where he was looking thanks to his mirrored sunglasses. To complete the image, Kagura could tell by the way his arm under her back felt that he'd been doing push-ups in the changing room. Not that Kagura would _complain_ about that, but it was a little weird how much Rogue apparently felt the need to impress her.

Kagura sighed as she saw Lector and Frosch run through the shallows, playing a happy game of Marco Polo. Why should everyone but her get to have fun? "Come on, Rogue," she said gruffly, standing up. "We're going in the water."

Rogue grabbed her arm and shook his head vehemently. "I already told you," he repeated deliberately, "the water's cold and way less comfortable than sitting on the beach. Do you really want me to do _that_?" He gestured to Sting, who was now gargling salt water and seaweed for Yukino's amusement.

"_Yes, _Rogue. I _do_," said an exasperated Kagura. She and Rogue both made a face as salt water and bits of seaweed started coming out of Sting's nose. "Okay, maybe not _that_, but… why can't we at least go swimming? I get that you want to be all cool, but I would seriously be way more impressed if you'd be willing to just loosen up and have a little fun! Isn't that what going to the beach is for?"

Rogue looked taken aback. "What? We _are_ having fun! Look at this ocean view! How great is the temperature here? Why do I have to go make a fool of myself for you to have fun? Why can't we just enjoy each other's company?"

Kagura shook her head. "Well, fine! If you're so caught up in your little tough guy act, I'll just go swimming by myself! I'm sure I'll have a lot more fun with Sting and Yukino than some moody, melodramatic _twit_ who needs a haircut!" Kagura furiously grabbed Archenemy and stormed off towards the water.

Rogue's mouth was wide open. His right eyelid was twitching. _I… need a haircut?_

God, that relationship self-help book Rufus gave him was grossly misnamed.

Rogue took stock. So far, he'd managed to alienate his girlfriend, refused to let her do what she wanted, and made her storm off after insulting his hairstyle. What did the book say to do in this situation? After a moment of thought, Rogue recalled the passage:

"In the event of the backfiring of a Technique, the Courtier must approach and rectify the Situation with all maligned Parties involved in the mishap."

Okay. It was time to gargle some saltwater.

Kagura was starting to feel terrible about the way she'd yelled at Rogue. He was just trying his best to impress her. That wasn't so bad, and it definitely wasn't bad enough to warrant the things she'd said. Plus, he was right- it wasn't so fun out here in the water after all, especially without him. There were only so many different somersaults Sting could do. It was just that Kagura had been on edge the entire day, due to an unshakably eerie feeling that they were being watched.

Kagura did not acknowledge him at first. She and Yukino were laughing at Sting showing off his underwater somersaults. Rogue awkwardly shuffled up and sheepishly tapped Kagura on the shoulder. Kagura spun around in surprise and, as a result of her highly tuned combative instincts, slammed the hilt of Archenemy into Rogue's nose.

Rogue's greeting gagged in his throat. His head snapped backward, and a stream of blood flew in an arc from his broken nose as he fell straight backward into the water with a loud splash.

Kagura froze. Yukino gasped. Sting stopped somersaulting and cocked his head. Lector turned to stare. Frosch, oblivious as ever, didn't notice Lector had stopped chasing him and kept running off towards the populated end of the beach.

Rogue stumbled out of the water and collapsed to his knees on the sand. "What. The. Hell." His nose was broken and bent at a crooked angle, the entire lower half of his face encrusted with salty blood.

"Rogue…" Kagura started, her eyes welling up.

"No, I get it. You don't have to say anything. My hair's just so offensive that you needed to correct my face to compensate."

Kagura gasped. "No, Rogue, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Where's Frosch?"

"He's right- Hey, where did Frosch go? Frosch?" Lector whipped around and around frantically.

Rogue spotted the exceed in the distance. "Frosch has the right idea," he said coldly, pointedly looking at the ground. "This is not a good place to be."

Kagura, now sobbing, ran, threw her arms around Rogue's neck, and buried her face into his chest. "Rogue, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean all those horrible things I said to you! It was an accident! I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" her muffled voice came out from beneath Rogue's chin.

Rogue's hands slipped around Kagura's shoulders. "I know."

Kagura gasped. She pulled her face up and looked at Rogue. He was staring off where Frosch had run. "I'd better go get Frosch," he mumbled, and stood up.

"I-I'll come with you!" Kagura exclaimed and grabbed his arm.

Rogue put a hand on her shoulder. "No, I- I need some alone time." He still wasn't looking at her. "Please."

Kagura stared at Rogue. Her grip on his arm tightened.

"I'm not mad, Kagura. I just need a little time to recover. You enjoy yourself."

Kagura was torn. A large part of her wanted to just reach out and grab Rogue, pull him close, and tell him how much he meant to her. She wanted to tell him that no, she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself without him.

But a part of her realized the faint telltale lines of darkness that were now zipping about Rogue's head. And she realized that unless she let Rogue cool down, he might blow his top any second.

She let go of his arm. "Okay, I will. Go ahead." She leaned in as close as she dared and gave Rogue a peck on the cheek. "Good luck."

Rogue did not reply. He walked off towards the next beach until he looked as small as Frosch.

Somehow Kagura could not shake the feeling that she would never see him again.

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><p>Rogue had managed to fully blow off all his steam by the time he reached the next beach over. This one was much more crowded, overflowing with people lounging on all sorts of towels, chairs, and even other people (this was a weird town). It would be very hard to find Frosch in this mess.<p>

Rogue started searching, but he had little luck. It was hard enough to look without having some little kid or fat dude run into him while he was examining the beach for a pink cat suit. At last Rogue found something that caught his eye, but it was not what he'd expected.

A woman lounged on the beach without a towel or chair. At first Rogue was intently focused on finding Frosch, but his eyes kept being unwillingly attracted back to her. Eventually he began to examine her so thoroughly that he lost all thought of Frosch entirely.

The woman's hair was long, silky black, and came down to about the middle of her back. She was clad in a purple bikini. Her curves were simple and streamlined, easily worthy of model status. Just the way she poised herself in her casual lounge was enough to drive most men into frenzy. Even Rogue lost all thoughts of Kagura, and became overcome with the most overwhelming sensation of shameful lust. His mouth grew wider, spilling a few drops of saliva. He found himself walking closer and closer… and closer…

So intent was he on the woman that he did not notice the swarm of men surrounding her, attending to her every whim.

Rogue now found himself standing directly in front of her. He sank to his knees, not by choice but not exactly against his will, either. "How may I please you, my lady?"

The woman finally acknowledged him, and smiled ruefully to herself. How often she pulled in new servants without trying. "Why, hello," she purred seductively. The rippling magic in her voice was akin to the web of a spider. "It appears I've made a new friend. What might your name be?" She casually brushed aside her hair in a way that flared her voluptuous breasts.

"Rogue…" Rogue breathed.

In an instant, the woman pulled a knife from her bosom and stabbed it right into Rogue's stomach. He gasped in shock, realizing his mistake, but it was too late. He collapsed on the sand.

"Huh. So the tigers are already here, are they? I was looking forward to having a little fun beforehand, but I suppose it can't be helped now." She snapped her fingers, and one of the hypnotized men handed her a communication lacrima. "This is Vanessa. The quarry is early. Execute the plan immediately."

She hung up and smirked to herself. Capturing Sting would be easy. After all, what man could possibly resist Vanessa the Temptress?

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><p><strong>Hey! So, I just really want to thank you for reading this even if it's been so long you might not remember what happened last time. It really means a lot to me. And you know what else does? Reviews! Yeah, I'm going to spare you the speech, but reviews make me feel good. So you know, if you'd just take ten seconds to leave one of those right on down in the box below, you will have my eternal love and gratitude. Alright, so I AM going to be getting back on the writing train, so expect an update some time in the next week or so! Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Have an absolutely wonderful day!<strong>


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